Follow-up 

Letters 


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NOV  2 1918 

Follow-up 

Fetters 

J>jr 

O.H.Kepley 


Published  b y 

The  American  Multigraph 
Sales  Company 


Fast  40 *h  Street  and  Kelley  Avenue 
Cleveland.  Ohio 


Copyrighted  1917,  by 
The  American  Multigraph  Sales  Company 


INTRODUCTION 


fe  5/. 3 

K mi 


FIVE  years  have  passed  since  I called  ten 
prominent  business  men  on  the  ’phone,  and 
asked:  “What  is  a follow-up  letter?”  Eight 
of  those  men  begged  the  question,  but  finally  said  it 
was  some  sort  of  a circular  or  form-letter,  and  two 
said  it  was  an  imitation  typewritten  letter.  That  was 
five  years  ago — and  I found  ten  broad-minded  suc- 
cessful business  men,  retail  and  wholesale,  who  had 
not  the  slightest  conception  of  one  of  the  greatest 
factors  that  was  even  then  building  some  of  our  cor- 
porations of  national  importance.  None  of  those  ten 
men  spoke  of  follow-up  letters  in  the  plural.  Yet 
that  is  the  only  way  they  can  be  spoken  of.  Follow- 
up letters  are  just  what  the  name  implies — letters, 
followed  one  after  the  other,  until  the  desired  result 
is  obtained. 


While  the  last  few  years  have  brought  many 
converts  to  follow-up  letter  advertising,  there  are 
thousands  of  good  business  men  who  do  not  yet  com- 
prehend the  intention  and  uses  of  follow-up  letters. 
I shall  first  attempt  to  logically  explain  the  intention 
— the  reason  why — of  follow-up  letters.  Further  on 
T shall  give  you  actual  examples  of  successful  follow- 
up letter  campaigns.  If  you  will  carefully  study, 
: first  the  principle  of  follow-up  letters — then  the  ap- 
plication  of  the  principle,  as  shown  by  the  mass  of 

J"  data  accumulated  from  various  successful  advertis- 
ers, this  book  should  make  it  possible  for  you  to  im- 
^ mediately  start  a follow-up  letter  campaign  in  your 
own  business. 


1 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2017  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign  Alternates 


https://archive.org/details/followuplettersOOkepl 


CHAPTER  I 


OU  can  not  benefit  by  what  will  follow  unless 


you  understand  me.  Everything  depends  up- 


JL  on  our  getting  a common  viewpoint — speak- 
ing the  same  language,  as  it  were.  So  often  we 
find  intelligent  men  differing  with  each  other  over 
trivial  matters,  and  it  is  generally  because  they  do 
not  approach  the  subject  from  the  same  angle. 
Two  men  might  stand  on  opposite  sides  of  a fence, 
one  side  of  which  had  been  painted  black  and  the 
other  white,  and  they  never  would  agree  on  the  color 
of  that  fence  until  each  took  a look  at  the  other  fel- 
low’s side  of  it.  Practically  all  intelligent  people 
thought  the  world  was  flat  until  Columbus  demon- 
strated that  it  was  round.  The  unbelievers  were  not 
fools — quite  to  the  contrary,  in  fact — but  it  was  not 
until  Columbus  gave  the  people  a common  viewpoint 
that  an  agreement  was  reached. 

All  our  older  business  men  recall  the  time  when 
a page  advertisement  in  a newspaper  or  magazine 
was  rare  indeed.  Many  remember  when  newspa- 
per advertising  was  looked  upon  as  a luxury  to  be 
indulged  in  by  the  few,  and  not  as  a business  neces- 
sity. The  growth  of  sign  board  advertising  has  been 
within  very  recent  years.  Electric  display  advertis- 
ing has  become  popular  even  more  recently.  All  of 
this  has  been  the  result  of  changing  conditions  and 
changing  viewpoints. 

The  letter  is  rapidly  taking  a position  of  great 
importance  in  the  advertising  and  selling  field. 
Thousands  of  firms  are  mailing  millions  of  letters — 
and  some  houses  have  built  up  business  of  national 
importance  through  the  mail  alone — yet  this  form 
of  advertising  and  selling  is  accepted  and  understood 


3 


by  only  a comparative  few  of  the  mass  of  advertisers, 
and  misunderstood  by  many. 

If  we  are  to  intelligently  consider  the  usefulness 
of  follow-up  letters,  we  must  first  agree  on  the  mean- 
ing of  the  term,  “follow-up  letters”.  It  isn't  difficult, 
for  Webster  defines  “follow”  thus:  “To  move  be- 
hind in  the  same  path  or  direction”.  Naturally,  a 
follow-up  letter  campaign  would  mean  one  letter 
following  the  first,  and  another  and  another  and  so 
on  indefinitely,  each  going  in  the  same  path.  Even 
a layman  must  agree  that  this  is  a reasonable  and  log- 
ical definition  for  follow-up  letters. 

But  there  are  various  kinds  of  letters — sales  let- 
ters, collection  letters,  advertising  letters,  promotion 
letters,  and  many  others,  so  we  naturally  wonder  to 
which  classification  the  term  “follow-up”  applies, 
and  why.  The  explanation  is  simple:  Every  letter 
that  is  written  is  sent  for  a purpose.  Until  that  pur- 
pose is  accomplished,  the  letter  has  only  partly  suc- 
ceeded. A sales  letter  is  written  for  the  purpose  of 
making  a sale,  and  if  the  first  letter  fails  it  should  be 
followed  by  another  letter,  and  another,  and  another, 
until  the  sale  is  made.  A collection  letter  is  sent  to 
get  money,  and  if  it  fails  its  followers  should  go  on 
and  on  until  one  finally  “brings  home  the  bacon”. 
Advertising  letters  are  intended  to  bring  inquiries 
and  when  one  or  twenty  fail,  the  twenty-first  should 
not  end  the  series  unless  it  gets  what  it  goes  after. 

Let  us  apply  the  follow-up  principle  to  our  daily 
lives.  If  you  start  to  drill  a well,  and  stop  just 
before  you  strike  oil,  you  have  wasted  the  labor  and 
money  it  took  to  drill,  haven’t  you?  Even  when  oil 
seekers  go  the  limit  in  depth  and  fail  to  strike  oil,  do 
they  say  oil  wells  are  mythical  and  quit  the  business? 
Not  at  all.  They  drill  another  well,  and  keep  on 

4 


drilling  other  wells,  and  every  now  and  then  they 
strike  oil — which  is  the  follow-up  as  applied  to  that 
business.  When  a baby  learns  to  walk,  the  first  at- 
tempt must  be  followed  up  by  other  attempts  until 
the  child  finally  walks.  Even  the  food  that  you  eat 
must  be  taken  daily — followed-up  indefinitely  in 
order  to  sustain  life  and  action. 

So,  the  term  follow-up  is  not  a theory.  It  is  one 
of  the  basic  principles  of  life  and  progress.  In 
everything  we  do  we  must  have  an  objective  point 
and  if  we  stop  short  of  that  point,  we  not  only  fail  in 
our  effort  but  we  waste  at  least  a great  portion  of  the 
time  and  energy  spent  in  getting  as  far  as  we  did.  If 
you  write  a letter  intended  to  sell  something,  and  you 
do  not  sell  with  the  first  letter,  it  is  your  plain,  com- 
mon-sense duty  to  send  another  letter,  and  as  many 
more  as  necessary  until  you  do  sell.  And  the  same 
applies  to  collection  letters,  or  any  other  letters.  Con- 
sequently, we  must  conclude  that  follow-up  letters, 
if  used,  must  in  all  cases  follow  each  other  continu- 
ously until  the  purpose  is  accomplished. 

So,  now  that  you  and  I are  beginning  to  “speak 
a common  language,”  we  can  agree  on  the  meaning 
and  purpose  of  follow-up  letters,  and  as  a result  we 
can  intelligently  discuss  the  necessity  for  such  letters. 

If  you  have  anything  to  sell,  advertise  or  collect, 
the  universally  accepted  method  is  to  send  a man  di- 
rect to  the  person  you  propose  to  deal  with.  In  sell- 
ing and  advertising  you  also  have  the  option  of  pub- 
lishing your  desires  in  newspapers  or  magazines,  and 
trusting  to  luck  that  the  man  you  want  to  reach  will 
read  it.  Both  methods  have  merit,  but  no  shoe  was 
ever  made  that  would  fit  every  foot  or  be  in  good 
taste  if  worn  on  every  occasion. 

Let  me  make  it  very  plain  that  I do  not  attack 

5 


the  proven  worth  of  newspaper  or  magazine  public- 
ity, as  they  play  an  important  part  in  the  business 
world.  But  neither  should  be  used  to  the  entire  ex- 
clusion of  other  methods  of  advertising.  Sign  boards 
are  good  advertising,  when  properly  used.  Good 
show  windows  are  an  important  kind  of  advertising. 
Electric  displays  are  acknowledged  to  be  good  ad- 
vertising for  certain  lines  of  business.  But  there  is 
only  one  method  of  advertising  and  selling  that  is 
acknowledged  to  cover  practically  every  commodity, 
and  that  is  the  man  method — sending  a man  to  speak 
your  message. 

Assuming  we  agree  that  if  we  could  meet  every 
customer  face  to  face,  or  do  all  our  advertising  and 
selling  through  personal  representation,  we  could  ac- 
complish the  maximum  result,  I am  going  to  follow 
that  statement  by  saying  that  a personal  letter  is  the 
next  thing  to  a personal  call.  If  I am  correct — if  a 
personal  letter  is  more  forceful  than  anything  except 
a personal  call — the  letter  takes  a very  important 
place  in  advertising  and  selling,  simply  because  per- 
sonal calls  on  everyone  we  wish  to  sell  to  or  advertise 
to  are  out  of  the  question  on  account  of  the  prohibit- 
ive cost. 

It  is  only  fair  that  we  briefly  analyze  the  various 
methods  of  advertising  and  selling  and  make  com- 
parisons before  we  go  further. 

A show  window  attracts  only  a small  percentage 
of  those  who  pass.  It  would  be  difficult  to  estimate 
how  many  actually  buy  goods  because  they  saw  them 
in  a show  window.  Results  can  not  be  traced. 

An  electric  display  may  be  read  and  admired 
by  thousands,  yet  only  a few  hundred  may  be  inter- 
ested in  the  goods  advertised.  For  instance,  a big 
concern  in  Kentucky  makes  flour  mill  machinery. 

6 


An  electric  sign  in  Buffalo  would  not  pay  them  be- 
cause they  would  be  advertising  to  thousands  where 
only  a few  possible  purchasers  exist. 

Sign  boards  are  read  by  millions  of  people  every 
day,  but  you  never  saw  printing  presses  advertised 
on  them  because  the  millions  do  not  buy  printing 
presses.  Yet  sign  board  advertising  of  some  popular 
brand  of  tobacco  or  a soda  cracker  seems  to  pay,  be- 
cause millions  do  buy  tobacco  and  soda  crackers. 

An  advertiser  who  sells  only  in  the  city  of  Pitts- 
burgh can’t  afford  to  advertise  in  magazines  of  na- 
tional circulation.  He  can’t  afford  it  because  there 
would  be  too  much  waste  circulation  to  be  paid  for. 
Only  a small  percentage  of  the  people  in  Pittsburgh 
would  see  the  ad. 

But  what  about  the  Pittsburgh  merchant  who 
advertises  in  his  own  daily  papers?  Doesn’t  he  pay 
for  waste  circulation?  Do  you  think  that  every  per- 
son in  Pittsburgh  who  wears  shoes  reads  every  shoe 
ad  in  the  daily  papers?  Of  course  they  do  not.  But 
the  shoe  merchant  does  pay  for  the  entire  circulation 
of  the  paper  in  which  his  ad  appears. 

The  follow-up  letter  is  the  last  form  of  adver- 
tising we  will  discuss.  To  begin  with,  there  can  be 
no  waste  circulation.  The  advertiser  picks  the  peo- 
ple he  wishes  to  sell  goods  to  and  writes  them  person- 
al letters.  The  merchant  who  has  show  windows 
need  not  wait  for  people  to  pass  the  windows.  He 
can  invite  the  individual  to  his  store.  The  manufac- 
turer of  flour  mill  machinery  can  select  the  firms  that 
would  probably  be  interested  in  his  product  and 
personally  talk  the  matter  over  with  individuals 
through  letters.  The  printing  press  manufacturer 
can  write  direct  to  publishers  and  printers  with  as- 
surance that  his  advertising  will  reach  the  firm  and 


the  individual  it  is  intended  for.  The  biscuit  maker 
and  the  tobacco  dealer  can  write  direct  to  jobbers  or 
purchasers  without  wasting  money  on  advertising 
tobacco  to  shop  girls  and  crackers  to  those  who  eat 
in  restaurants,  hotels  or  boarding  houses.  Isn’t  it 
quite  plain  that  everything  that  is  sold  has  its  individ- 
ual market?  Work  shoes  are  sold  to  working  people 
— electric  fixtures  to  those  who  build — furs  to  wom- 
en— trousers  to  men.  So  why  not  advertise  to  the 
people  who  buy  your  goods , and  not  to  the  multitude 
who  are  not  interested? 

At  this  point  I will  say  a word  on  the  relation 
of  advertising  to  selling.  Advertisng  IS  selling. 
There  is  not  one  bit  of  difference  between  sending  a 
salesman  to  get  an  order  and  sending  a letter  with 
order  blank  enclosed,  so  far  as  your  objective  point 
is  concerned.  In  both  cases  you  are  attempting  to 
sell  something.  The  trouble  is  that  you  expect  the 
letter  to  be  more  than  human — to  do  more  than  a 
salesman  could  do.  Let  me  give  you  a viewpoint 
that  probably  has  never  occurred  to  you.  A few  mo- 
ments ago  I asked  two  men  to  talk  in  a conversation- 
al tone  for  one  minute  each,  while  a stenographer 
noted  the  conversation.  We  found  that  the  men  av- 
eraged 100  words  per  minute.  In  one  hour,  speak- 
ing continuously,  a man  will  speak  6,000  words. 
Assuming  that  a prospect  lets  the  salesman  talk  half 
that  time — the  other  half  being  taken  up  with  the 
prospect’s  conversation — the  salesman  speaks  3,000 
words  in  an  hour.  The  ordinary  single  page  letter 
contains  less  than  300  words,  so  that  it  would  take 
ten  full  page  letters  to  say  as  much  as  the  salesman 
says  in  one  hour.  If,  after  one  hour’s  conversation,  a 
salesman  returns  and  reports  failure  to  sell,  you  say: 
“What  do  you  expect  on  your  first  call?  Go  back 


and  stick  until  you  get  the  order”.  Yet,  that  same 
good  business  man  will  start  a series  of  letters  to 
prospects,  mailed  from  one  to  three  months  apart, 
and  wonder  why  he  doesn’t  get  enormous  immediate 
results.  Three  little  letters,  each  of  which  has  three 
minutes’  conversation  in  them,  sent  days  or  weeks 
apart — and  some  men  have  expected  wonderful  re- 
sults from  letter  campaigns  like  that.  It  would  be 
just  as  logical  to  expect  a salesman  to  call  on  a pros- 
pect, talk  three  minutes,  and  bring  in  an  order.  No 
sane  business  man  ever  expected  salesmen  to  do  that. 
Then  why  expect  letters  to  do  what  men  can  not  do? 

Then  there  is  the  great  difference  between  the 
cost  of  personal  letters  and  personal  calls.  It  costs  a 
dollar  an  hour  for  the  time  of  the  average  salesman. 
Working  at  top  speed,  a salesman  cannot  be  expected 
to  talk  to  more  than  eight  prospects  a day.  It  costs 
only  a postage  stamp,  plus  a little  labor  and  paper, 
to  talk  to  a prospect  by  letter,  and  you  can  talk  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  a day  if  you  care  to.  The  to- 
tal volume  of  sales  is  generally  in  ratio  to  the  num- 
ber of  people  you  ask  to  buy  your  goods.  That  is,  if 
you  call  on  1,000  people  this  year,  and  10,000  people 
next  year,  your  chances  for  selling  next  year  will  be 
ten  to  one  over  this  year.  Then  if  you  really  wish  to 
expand  your  business,  why  limit  your  possible  sales 
to  the  number  of  men  your  salesmen  can  see?  For 
the  price  of  one  salesman  you  can  tell  your  selling 
story  to  at  least  300  prospects  per  day. 

The  letter  also  has  the  advantage  of  securing  in- 
terviews and  attention  that  the  salesman  cannot  get. 
I recall  a story  told  recently:  A salesman  had  been 
calling  on  a purchasing  agent  for  several  weeks  but 
could  not  get  a satisfactory  answer  or  even  a fair  in- 
vestigation of  his  goods.  Finally,  in  desperation,  he 

9 


went  to  the  general  manager,  who  immediately  said : 
“Oh  yes,  your  Sales  Manager,  Mr.  Crane,  has  been 
writing  me  for  some  time.  I am  interested  in  your 
stuff  and  will  have  the  purchasing  agent  look  into  it 
at  once.” 

The  purchasing  agent  was  called  in,  an  investi- 
gation made,  and  in  three  days  the  salesman  had  a 
nice  order.  All  because  his  firm  had  been  paving 
the  way  for  him  by  sending  advertising  sales  letters 
to  officials  of  firms  where  he  was  calling. 

This  is  an  absolutely  true  story  and  when  we  an- 
alyze it  there  is  sound  reasoning  behind  it.  You 
would  be  far  more  interested  in  a salesman’s  story  if 
you  had  seen  a quantity  of  advertising  matter  ex- 
plaining the  product,  than  in  something  you  had 
never  heard  of.  And  if  the  sales  manager  of  some 
concern  has  been  writing  to  you,  isn’t  it  natural  that 
you  should  feel  more  friendly  toward  the  representa- 
tive of  that  firm? 

There  is  no  magic  in  selling  goods.  There  is 
nothing  weird  or  mystic  about  advertising.  People 
just  do  not  buy  anything  unless  they  know  what  they 
are  buying,  and  the  easier  you  make  it  for  your  pros- 
pect to  feel  close  to  you — to  understand  your  prod- 
uct— the  easier  your  sales  will  be. 

There  are  always  two  ways  to  do  anything — the 
right  way  and  the  wrong  way.  Advertisers  are  not 
giving  enough  thought  to  the  right  and  wrong  meth- 
ods of  advertising.  Make  your  method  fit  your  in- 
dividual problem.  No  one  would  charter  an  express 
car  to  deliver  a one-pound  package.  But  many  ad- 
vertisers charter  the  entire  circulation  of  some  ad- 
vertising medium  in  order  to  deliver  goods  to  one 
per  cent,  of  the  people  who  read  the  medium.  In 
fact,  when  we  have  a one-pound  package  to  deliver 

10 


we  let  Uncle  Sam  take  it,  don’t  we?  Why?  Because 
that  is  the  most  direct  and  cheapest  means  of  trans- 
portation. By  the  same  reasoning,  why  not  ask  peo- 
ple to  buy  your  goods  through  the  cheapest,  most  di- 
rect and  efficient  medium? 

Advertising  in  any  medium  of  general  circula- 
tion, the  personal  appeal  is  difficult  and  in  most  cases 
impossible.  Every  reader  knows  that  the  same  ap- 
peal is  being  made  to  thousands  of  others.  You 
catch  only  those  who  happen  to  want  your  goods  just 
at  the  time  they  read  the  advertisement.  But  when 
a personal  letter  goes  to  any  man  or  woman  it  is  a 
private  invitation  to  trade  with  you.  You  are  pick- 
ing the  people  you  wish  to  sell  goods  to,  and  you 
know  that  they  will  receive  your  message.  And  if 
this  form  of  advertising  is  cheaper  than  advertising 
to  the  multitude,  on  a chance  that  some  will  buy,  by 
what  manner  of  reasoning  should  any  business  house 
continue  to  advertise  wholly  along  old  lines? 

As  I have  said  before,  all  forms  of  advertising 
are  good,  if  properly  used.  For  general  prestige, 
general  publicity  is  necessary.  But  no  form  of  ad- 
vertising so  completely  covers  the  field  as  Direct- 
Mail  Advertising.  That  this  type  of  advertising 
and  selling  is  no  longer  an  experiment  is  evidenced 
by  the  successes  of  our  big  mail-order  houses,  as  they 
get  all  their  business  by  this  method. 


n 


CHAPTER  II 


HE  follow-up  rule  is  a common-sense  rule. 


It  cannot  fail.  It  is  based  on  human  nature, 


A and  the  laws  of  nature  itself.  You  can  start  a 
ball  rolling  on  level  ground,  but  to  keep  it  rolling 
you  must  keep  pushing — applying  the  follow-up. 
The  child  in  school  may  be  shown  the  picture  of  a 
cat,  and  told  that  it  is  a cat,  but  the  performance 
must  be  repeated  over  and  over  before  the  child 
mind  stores  away  the  mental  picture  of  the  word 
c-a-t.  The  teacher  applies  the  follow-up.  The  mer- 
chant tells  you  that  his  goods  are  the  best  on  the  mar- 
ket, but  if  he  never  sees  you  again,  you  forget  him. 
But  if  he  conies  to  you  every  week,  year  after  year, 
with  the  same  forceful  claim,  presenting  new  facts, 
you  will  unconsciously  accept  his  statements  as  true 
— sooner  or  later. 

On  the  morning  of  November  15th  the  Susque- 
hanna Motor  Car  Company  mailed  the  letter  which 
follows  to  350  prospects.  The  evening  of  the  16th 
they  had  sold  20  covers,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
week  had  sold  every  cover  in  stock.  There  is  noth- 
ing particularly  unusual  about  that  letter,  but  it  got 
results.  I believe  it  was  Hugh  Chalmers  who  said : 
'‘The  success  of  any  business  man  is  90%  horse-sense.” 
That  is  all  there  is  to  writing  follow-up  letters.  Cut 
out  the  flowers.  A business  letter  is  not  a political 
oration,  and  does  not  run  to  figures  of  speech.  It  is 
intended  to  be  YOU  on  paper — your  conversation, 
your  arguments,  your  appeal,  just  as  you  would  make 
it  in  plain  words  to  a prospective  customer  in  your 
place  of  business. 

The  follow-up  principle  applies  to  any  business. 
Here  is  a photographic  supply  house  that  wanted  to 
increase  the  business  of  their  film  finishing  depart- 


12 


SUSQUEHANNA  MOTOR  CAR  COMPANY 


CADILLAC  AUTOMOBILES 

SUPPLIES  REPAIRS 

STORAGE 

WILKES-BARRE,  PA.  SCRANTON,  PA. 

Wilkes-Barre,  Pa., 

November  18,  1916. 


G & J TIRES 


Mr.  S.  C.  Whetraore, 
Jermyn,’  Pa. 

Dear  Sir:- 


Re-Radlator  Covers, 

A cover  for  the  radiator  of  your  car  is  essential 
for  best  performance  of  your  car  during  cold  and  freezing 

weather. 


Radiator  covers  not  only  aid  in  preventing  the 
radiators  from  freezing, but  they  also  retain  the  heat 
and  thereby  aiding  the  motors  to  quickly  acquire  the  proper 
degree  of  temperature  to  insure  the  best  motor  efficiency, 
which  would  otherwise  be  lost.  This  last  feature  is  very 
important  during  the  cold  and  freezing  weather , Which  i|  now 
rapidly  approaching. 

For  a number  of  years  we  have  been  experimenting 
with  covers  of  different  types. and  have  at  last  been  for- 
tunate in  securing  a cover  made  exclusively  for  Cadillac 
Cars. These  Covers  are  not  only  efficient  and  handy,  but 
are  also  good  fitting  and  the  price  of  $5.00  is  reasonable 
considering  the  workmanship  and  style. 

The  enclosed  folder  will  give  you  the  details  and 
idea  of  appearance  on  car  of  your  type. 

We  have  them  in  stock. 

May  we  put  one  on  your  car? 

Yours  very  truly, 


Susquehanna  Motor  Car  Company 

c - 


Manager 


RAR/'KM. 


13 


ment.  They  mailed  227  of  the  first  letter,  received 
104  answers,  and  added  252  new  names  to  their  mail- 
ing list.  To  this  252  names  they  mailed  letter  No.  2, 
and  received  films  for  finishing  from  5%  of  the  list 
in  the  first  mails,  and  they  are  still  making  customers 
from  that  advertising. 


Nashville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  15,  1916. 

Miss  Alleen  Jones, 

Waynesboro,  Tenn. 

Dear  Miss  Jones: — 

We  want  to  ask  a favor  of  you  and  in  a way  to  do  you  a fa- 
vor also.  Have  you  any  friends  or  acquaintances  who  own  Ko- 
daks but  who  do  not  have  their  finishing  done  by  us?  If  you 
will  give  us  the  names  and  addresses  of  three  such  persons,  to- 
gether with  the  size  and  make  of  their  Camera,  we  will  send 
you  in  return,  free  of  charge,  a very  neat  and  attractive  little 
Kodak  Album.  Use  the  inclosed  card,  signing  your  own  name 
and  address,  with  the  size  and  make  of  your  camera. 

We  also  want  to  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  you  for  the 
orders  sent  us.  You  may  rest  assured  that  every  strip  of  your  film 
is  developed  and  every  print  is  made  by  experts  who  have  the 
one  idea  of  “results”  in  mind. 

Trusting  that  you  will  send  us  the  list  at  your  earliest  con- 
venience, we  are 

Respectfully  yours, 

GEO.  C.  DURY  & CO. 

Per  G.  C.  D. 

Nashville,  Tenn.,  Nov.  1,  1916. 

Miss  Faydine  Webb, 

Wilders,  Tenn. 

Dear  Miss  Webb : — 

We  understand  that  you  own  and  use  a Kodak.  When  you 
take  pictures  you  want  to  see  your  films  finished  right,  don’t 
you?  You  want  the  prints  to  be  the  very  best  possible.  Well, 
that  is  what  we  want  too.  The  men  in  our  finishing  department 
are  experts,  who  work  with  the  one  idea  of  “results”  always  in 
mind. 

We  have  up-to-the-minute  apparatus,  use  the  very  best  of  ma- 
terial and  have  men  who  know  how.  We  sincerely  believe  that 


14 


we  can  give  you  better  finishing  than  you  can  get  elsewhere, 
and  we  would  like  very  much  to  develop  and  print  your  next 
roll. 

By  the  way,  it’s  very  near  Christmas  now  and  Kodak  pic- 
tures of  your  own  slipped  into  one  of  our  Gift  Calendars  would 
make  very  attractive  and  inexpensive  gifts. 

These  Calendars  are  extremely  pretty  this  year  and  you  had 
better  order  right  away  before  our  supply  is  exhausted. 

Very  respectfully 

G.  C.  DURY  & CO. 

P.  S.  We  are  enclosing  convenient  mailing  wrappers  for 
sending  in  your  films. 

The  Salcura  Company,  of  Milwaukee,  sells  to 
physicians  and  druggists.  They  started  the  first  of  a 
series  of  letters  as  follows: 

All  that  stands  between  you — and  a series  of  REALLY 
BIG  PROFITABLE  SALES  is- — a 2c  stamp — a letter — 5 
minutes  time,  and  the  mail. 

Of  course,  if  you  have  all  the  business  you  really  care 
for — and  expenses  do  not  bother  you — then  we  can  under- 
stand why  you  do  not  answer — but  if  you  have  the  natural 
desire  to  increase  your  trade — not  only  for  self  protection  in 
case  some  clients  drop  away,  which  is  impossible  to  prevent, 
and  you  wish  to  secure  larger  profits  from  your  persevering 
and  deserving  efforts,  etc.,  etc. 

We  do  not  show  this  as  an  example  of  a perfect 
selling  letter.  It  could  be  picked  to  pieces  by  an  ad- 
vertising “expert”.  But — out  of  400  mailed — it 
pulled  30%  replies , and  80%  ORDERS  resulted 
from  the  replies.  That  seems  to  be  the  “proof  of  the 
pudding”.  The  same  concern  mailed  another  letter 
— the  fourth  of  a series  to  5,000  names — which  started 
as  follows : 

I wish  it  were  possible  to  be  with  you,  instead  of  send- 
ing this  letter — because  then  I could  find  out  personally 
without  delay  just  why  you  did  not  answer  the  correspond- 
ence sent  you. 


15 


You  were  very  much  in  need  of  help  when  you  wrote, 
and  we  answered  as  quickly  as  possible,  offering  it  to  you — yet 
you  maintain  a silence  that  is  very  peculiar,  etc.,  etc. 

This  letter  might  be  even  more  severely  criticized 
by  advertising  men,  but  1800  replied , and  1800 
BOUGHT,  which  proves,  regardless  of  opinion  to 
the  contrary,  that  it  isn’t  always  the  “clever”  letter 
that  gets  results. 

What  truck  dealer  would  refuse  to  spend  $7.50 
to  sell  a truck?  Yet,  two  letters  mailed  by  Danner 
Bros,  to  a list  of  fifty  people  whose  names  they  se- 
cured from  personal  calls  at  their  exhibit  at  the  State 
Fair,  actually  sold  one  truck  outright,  and  interested 
several  prospects  who  probably  purchased  later.  The 
entire  mail  campaign  cost  less  than  $7.50. 

Dear  Sir: — 

Well,  how  did  you  enjoy  our  Fair?  Richmonders  are  very 
enthusiastic  and  everyone  is  of  the  opinion  that  it  beat  anything 
ever  held  here, — particularly  as  to  the  completeness  and  high 
standard  of  the  farm  exhibits. 

Now  that  you  have  settled  down  to  business,  we  suppose  that 
you  have  pretty  thoroughly  digested  the  literature  which  we 
gave  you  on  the  powerful  little  Hudford.  We  feel  sure  that 
it  will  fill  your  requirements,  and  know  that  it  will  prove  to  be 
the  best  investment  that  you  ever  made. 

May  wt  suggest  that  you  place  5^our  order  immediately?  Na- 
turally we  want  to  make  this  sale  as  soon  as  possible,  but  our 
suggestion  is  not  wholly  selfish,  as  we  only  have  a few  trucks 
on  hand  for  immediate  delivery.  As  soon  as  these  are  sold  we 
cannot  guarantee  delivery  as  the  factory  is  even  now  behind  on 
our  orders,  and  market  conditions  will  be  still  more  severe  in  a 
short  while. 

We  wish  to  take  this  opportunity  of  thanking  you  for  the 
interest  shown,  and  ask  that  you  immediately  fill  in  and  return 
the  enclosed  card,  as  the  writer  is  arranging  several  demonstra- 
tions in  your  immediate  neighborhood  within  the  next  two  weeks. 

Yours  very  truly, 

DANNER  BROTHERS  CO. 


16 


We  have  been  expecting  to  hear  from  you  every  day,  in  reply 
to  our  letter  of  October  27th. 

You  will  recall  that  we  asked  that  you  let  us  have  an  op- 
portunity of  giving  you  an  actual  demonstration  of  the  power- 
ful, yet  economical  Hudford,  in  order  that  we  might  satisfy 
you  that  it  is  all  that  we  claim  it  to  be. 

The  writer  has  one  demonstration  booked,  not  so  far  from  you, 
and  if  you  feel  sufficiently  interested  at  this  time,  would  like  to 
run  over  and  show  the  truck  to  you. 

Remember,  the  horse  eats  its  head  off  whether  it  is  working  or 
not.  When  the  Hudford  is  not  paying  for  its  board  it  is  stand- 
ing in  the  garage  costing  you  nothing.  Needless  to  say,  one  truck 
can  do  more  work  per  day  than  three  teams. 

You  can  save  many  dollars  by  discarding  the  animals  and  using 
a Hudford.  No  other  truck  can  be  operated  as  economically; 
no  other  truck  is  so  fairly  priced;  there  is  no  one  ton  truck  on 
the  market,  at  any  price,  that  can  do  more  work. 

Trusting  that  you  will  fill  in  and  mail  the  enclosed  card,  and 
permit  us  to  show  you,  we  are, 

Yours  for  money  saving, 

DANNER  BROTHERS  COMPANY. 

Thos.  J.  Hay,  Chicago  distributor  for  Chandler 
automobiles,  sent  a series  of  four  letters  to  1500 
names.  He  picked  these  names  from  financial  rat- 
ing books  in  twelve  counties.  The  letters  were  mailed 
ten  days  apart.  They  received  236  replies,  and  from 
these  four  active  dealers  were  secured,  contracting 
for  60  cars,  19  of  which  had  been  delivered  when 
this  was  reported  to  me.  As  these  letters  netted 
$25,080.00  in  immediate  sales,  with  far  more  in  sight, 
we  reproduce  the  entire  series,  and  recommend  these 
letters  as  an  excellent  example  of  highly  efficient  fol- 
low-up. 

The  undersigned  has  recently  had  your  county  added  to  his 
Chicago  territory  for  the  distribution  of  CHANDLER  automo- 
biles. One  reason  this  territory  was  given  to  me  was  because 
we  have  developed  a fine  trade  throughout  all  of  the  territory 
controlled  under  the  Chicago  office  and  there  was  comparatively 
little  business  being  developed  from  your  county. 

17 


THIS  OF  COURSE  IS  YOUR  OPPORTUNITY. 
CHANDLER  cars  have  been  selling  rapidly  in  every  county  in 
this  State  where  we  control  the  sale,  and  cars  sold  in  territory 
surrounding  you  will  have  more  or  less  influence  on  sales  in  your 
county. 

The  CHANDLER,  as  you  know,  is  one  of  the  greatest  suc- 
cesses ever  known  in  the  automobile  business;  owners  are  suc- 
cessful in  the  use  of  the  car,  dealers  are  successful  in  the  profits 
they  make  from  the  sale  of  the  car,  distributors  have  been  suc- 
cessful in  selling  large  numbers  throughout  the  United  States 
and  the  factory  has  been  phenomenally  successful  in  manufactur- 
ing a good  car  in  sufficient  quantities  to  give  us  all  a chance  to 
make  some  money. 

Now,  the  logical  thing  to  do  in  the  automobile  business  is  to 
tie  to  a success ; do  not  pick  a dead  one,  do  not  pick  a car  simply 
because  they  give  a longer  discount  than  we  offer,  but  look  around 
to  see  what  cars  are  selling — investigate  the  CHANDLER 
Company,  the  distributor  and  the  Chandler  car  and  you  will 
find  an  unbroken  line  of  success.  Frankly,  all  that  is  necessary 
for  you  to  do  to  participate  in  this  success,  is  to  undertake  the 
sale  of  this  remarkable  car.  I say  remarkable,  simply  because  it 
is  successful  and  it  could  not  be  successful  year  after  year  if  the 
cars  themselves  were  not  satisfactory  to  the  people  purchasing 
the  car. 

Now,  this  is  a new  territory  to  me  and  I want  a dealer.  If 
you  are  interested,  I would  like  to  hear  from  you.  There  is 
no  question  but  what  the  car  can  be  sold  and  I am  going  to  do 
in  your  county  the  same  as  I have  done  in  every  other  county 
under  my  control — I am  going  to  get  a successful  and  money- 
making dealer  in  the  county. 

If  this  interests  you,  wire  us,  write  us  or  call  on  us,  or  indicate 
that  you  would  like  to  have  our  salesman  call  on  you;  at  any 
rate,  do  not  let  this  opportunity  get  away  from  you,  as  we  are 
prepared  not  only  to  give  you  the  balance  of  this  year,  but  an- 
other season  under  your  contract.  It  is  a big  opportunity — now 
is  the  time  to  get  started  so  that  people  will  know  you  are  going 
to  have  the  CHANDLER  next  year. 

You  had  better  let  us  hear  from  you  at  your  earliest  oppor- 
tunity, as  we  are  going  to  close  this  matter  within  a few  days. 

Yours  very  truly, 

THOS.  J.  HAY. 


18 


A few  days  ago  I wrote  you  about  the  sale  of  Chandler  cars 
in  your  city.  Perhaps  you  did  not  receive  this  letter,  or  if  you 
did  get  it,  you  were  not  in  a receptive  mood  the  day  it  came. 

Since  the  date  of  my  former  letter,  ten  days  ago,  forty  deal- 
ers in  my  territory  have  sold  80  Chandler  motor  cars,  at  an 
average  profit  of  $250.00,  or  $500.00  average  earnings  per  dealer 
in  this  ten  days  time.  These  dealers  are  just  such  men  as  you 
and  I,  but  they  are  profiting  by  the  present  excellent  condition 
of  general  business  and  the  unusual  opportunity  to  sell  auto- 
mobiles. 

Any  good  live  dealer  in  any  good  town  in  my  territory  can 
sell  ten  Chandler  cars  in  a season;  this  means  $2500,  earned  on 
just  a small  business.  Some  of  my  dealers  sell  50  to  75  cars, 
their  profit  amounting  to  from  $12,500  to  $20,000. 

The  automobile  business  is  just  what  you  make  it — if  you  are 
content  to  sell  but  one  car,  you  make  a small  profit,  but  a little 
extra  work  and  hustle  might  result  in  the  sale  of  50  cars  and  you 
cash  in  in  a big  way.  I have  been  dealing  in  automobiles  for 
eighteen  years  and  have  helped  many  a man  to  make  a good 
sized  fortune.  I have  the  cars  to  sell — the  rest  is  up  to  you. 

Do  not  tell  me  that  Chandlers  have  not  sold  in  your  territory, 
but  kindly  remember,  as  I told  you  in  my  last  letter,  that  this 
territory  has  just  been  turned  over  to  me  and  I am  going  to  get 
you  or  some  other  man  selling  CHANDLER  cars  before  I quit. 
It  is  easy  money,  profitable,  pleasant  and  fascinating  business — 
others  are  making  money  on  it,  some  are  making  a little  money 
and  others  are  becoming  rich.  It  is  the  easiest,  nicest  and  most 
attractive  business  in  the  world.  I have  known  men  to  make  a 
success  of  the  automobile  business  after  the  doctors  had  given 
them  up.  The  out-door  work  is  beneficial  to  anyone;  the  time 
you  waste  in  hauling  your  friends  around  is  the  very  time  that 
could  be  used  to  sell  automobiles.  I do  not  believe  you  can  show 
me  a better,  more  profitable  and  more  pleasant  business  than  sell- 
ing automobiles. 

This  is  not  a get- rich-quick  scheme — we  are  not  asking  any- 
thing in  the  way  of  a risk  on  your  part.  You  can  certainly  use 
the  car  you  buy  for  a demonstrator.  If  you  have  any  doubt 
about  your  ability  to  sell  one  or  two  cars,  I would  not  advise 
anyone  to  undertake  it,  but  the  chances  are  here;  the  automobile 
business  is  now  about  the  second  or  third  largest  business  in  the 
United  States  and  it  is  growing  faster  than  any  other  line  of 


19 


trade — new  roads  and  new  needs  are  making  new  markets  every 
day. 

THINK  IT  OVER  AND  LET  ME  HEAR  FROM  YOU. 

Yours  very  truly, 

THOS.  J.  HAY. 

I really  thought  that  my  last  letter  to  you  was  so  appealing 
and  so  attractive  that  you  would  have  at  least  answered  it. 
Kindly  keep  in  mind  that  I am  not  selling  stocks,  lightning 
rods,  gold  bricks  or  blue  sky.  I am  offering  to  sell  you  territory 
and  with  this  goes  the  privilege  of  selling  Chandler  cars.  I re- 
peat— it  is  a privilege,  because  unless  you  make  your  contract 
with  me  and  purchase  a demonstrator  and  arrange  your  terms 
with  me,  you  are  not  in  a position  to  reap  the  profits  on  the  sale 
of  Chandler  cars  in  your  territory. 

Now  remember,  I do  not  charge  you  anything  for  the  terri- 
tory and  I am  willing  to  sell  you  your  demonstrating  car  at  a 
wholesale  price.  Really,  I am  taking  all  the  chances — if  you  buy 
a demonstrator,  tie  up  my  territory  and  then  fail  to  sell  a suffi- 
cient number  of  cars  to  make  me  a little  profit,  why  really  it  is 
myself  that  loses  rather  than  you.  You  know  I buy  this  territory 
of  the  Chandler  Company  just  the  way  I am  passing  it  out  to  my 
dealers,  except  that  where  I ask  the  dealer  to  invest  in  a $1295.00 
Chandler  car,  less  the  dealer’s  discount,  I agree  to  buy  one  and  a 
half  Million  Dollars’  worth  of  Chandler  automobiles,  I put  up 
a very  heavy  cash  deposit  with  them,  I employ  75  to  100  people 
to  help  me  market  these  cars,  I obligate  myself  for  extensive  ad- 
vertising and  the  rent  on  Michigan  Avenue  is  rather  high. 

Now,  you  do  not  have  to  do  many  of  these  things.  All  I am 
trying  to  get  you  to  do  is  to  buy  a car,  put  up  a very  small  deposit, 
sign  a contract  so  that  we  will  understand  each  other  and  have 
you  try  out  the  automobile  business.  I could  cite  you  hundreds 
of  cases  where  I have  started  dealers  who  had  to  borrow  the 
money  to  buy  their  first  demonstrators,  and  I am  ashamed  to  ad- 
mit that  some  of  these  same  dealers  have  more  money  to-day 
than  I have,  but  I continued  to  work  for  another  concern  eight  or 
ten  years  while  these  fellows  were  building  up  their  own  business. 

Remember,  when  you  sell  automobiles,  you  are  in  business  for 
yourself  and  you  can  make  it  big  or  sell  out  and  quit  whenever  you 
choose.  Your  earnings  depend  entirely  on  your  energy.  You  sell 
the  car  over  and  over  and  therefore  only  have  invested  the  price 
of  one  or  two  cars  at  a time  in  your  business.  We  can  deliver 

20 


the  cars  one  at  a time  out  of  Chicago,  or  we  can  ship  them  two  in 
a carload  from  Cleveland. 

Do  you  really  consider  going  into  the  automobile  business?  I 
am  not  trying  to  sell  one  car  at  a wholesale  price — what  I want 
is  a dealer  in  your  town  and  I realize  that  a great  many  begin- 
ners hesitate  to  buy  more  than  one  car,  but  I am  willing  to  take 
a chance  after  the  prospective  dealer  shows  a disposition  to  invest 
in  a car.  It  is  the  only  business  that  I know  of  where  your  en- 
tire stock  is  a source  of  pleasure  to  the  entire  family — you  can 
use  it  all  day  long  demonstrating  to  prospective  customers  and 
take  the  whole  family  out  for  a ride  in  the  evening. 

I maintain  it  is  one  of  the  finest  businesses  in  the  world — the 
nicest  part  of  it  is  you  can  make  a lot  of  money  along  with  the 
fim*  Yours  very  truly, 

THOS.  J.  HAY. 

When  I started  out  I decided  to  write  you  four  letters  and 
this  is  the  last  one.  If  this  does  not  pull  an  answer  out  of  you, 
I am  going  to  quit  spending  any  more  postage  trying  to  interest 
you  in  Chandler  cars. 

Of  course,  I understand  you  did  not  invite  me  to  write  you 
at  all,  and  inasmuch  as  I have  not  heard  from  you,  probably  all 
three  of  the  other  letters  went  into  the  waste  basket;  and  were 
it  not  for  the  fact  that  I decided  to  write  four  of  these  letters, 
I might  as  well  have  made  the  last  letter  the  last  rather  than 
this  one. 

What  I would  like  to  know  is  what  is  wrong  with  my  letters? 
I laid  this  out  to  you  in  a very  attractive,  persuasive  and  profita- 
ble way.  Now,  everybody  that  writes  advertising  letters  tells  me 
that  three  or  four  letters  are  sure  to  get  an  answer,  and  in  order 
to  make  sure  that  I do  get  an  answer  from  this  fourth  letter,  I 
am  enclosing  herewith  a stamped  envelope  and  would  like  to 
have  you  simply  drop  me  a line  right  now,  it  won’t  take  a minute, 
just  to  tell  why  you  refuse  to  get  into  the  automobile  business  or 
why  my  letters  fail  to  hit  the  mark. 

If  in  my  persistence  I have  offended  you,  I apologize  in  ad- 
vance, but  I believe  this  letter  is  going  to  get  under  your  skin  to 
such  an  extent  that  you  are  going  to  write  me  and  tell  me  to  “go 

to  ” or  you  are  going  to  tell  me  that  you  already  have  an 

old  car  to  trade,  that  you  do  not  like  my  car,  that  you  have 
bought  another  car  or  that  you  are  against  the  automobile  busi- 
ness anyhow,  or  some  other  reason.  In  fact  I want  to  prove  by 

21 


this  series  of  letters  whether  or  not  I am  right  in  wagering  with 
some  of  my  employes  that  out  of  the  set  of  four  letters  I would 
get  answers  from  at  least  fifty  per  cent  of  the  people. 

I have  already  had  answers  from  forty-five  per  cent  of  those 
addressed.  We  mailed  out  two  thousand  of  these  letters;  these 
are,  as  you  probably  noticed,  process  letters,  printed,  with  the 
names  filled  in,  but  I sat  in  my  office  on  a hot  August  day  and 
personally  dictated  the  contents.  I do  not  believe  I could  have 
made  the  letters  any  stronger  or  put  more  truth  in  a less  num- 
ber of  letters  if  I had  personally  dictated  each  letter  and  had  it 
written  on  a typewriter. 

Now,  I have  told  you  the  whole  scheme — I have  nothing 
whatever  to  conceal — the  cards  are  on  the  table.  I can  prove 
every  assertion  I have  made  in  any  of  these  four  letters — it  is  just 
a question  as  to  whether  or  not  you  and  I can  get  together  on 
the  sale  of  CHANDLER  CARS.  There  is  no  bunk  in  these 
letters — it  is  a straight-out  business  proposition.  Other  people 
sell  cars — why  can’t  you? 

I do  not  know  whether  these  are  the  right  kind  of  letters  or 
not,  but  I am  again  going  to  ask  you  to  do  me  the  favor  of  using 
the  enclosed  envelope  and  telling  me  what  you  think  of  this 
method  of  going  after  the  trade  on  Chandler  cars,  but  most  of 
all — if  I have  any  chance  of  doing  any  business  with  you ; if  not, 
I will  not  inflict  you  with  any  more  of  my  advertising,  but  if  you 
see  there  is  the  slightest  chance,  believe  me  I will  make  the  next 
series  eight  letters  and  put  you  on  the  mailing  list. 

What  do  you  say?  Yours  very  truly, 

THOS.  J.  HAY. 

It  takes  time  to  convince  on  paper,  just  as  it 
does  with  word  of  mouth.  We  expect  salesmen  to 
talk  volumes,  and  are  well  satisfied  if  they  land  the 
business,  at  that.  But  some  apparently  well  bal- 
anced business  men  send  out  a SINGLE  letter,  that 
could  be  spoken  orally  in  three  minutes,  and  expect 
it  to  bring  results  that  hours  of  sales  talk  could  not 
get. 

And  here  is  an  example  of  what  letters  will  do 
in  the  jewelry  business.  In  order  to  secure  the 
“specials”  which  Hugh  Connolly  offers  his  trade,  it 

22 


is  necessary  to  present  his  letter  at  time  of  purchase. 
He  has  a mailing  list  of  nearly  7,000.  On  his  letter 
of  Nov.  14th  he  sold  1000  tea  strainers,  which  means 
that  1000  people  had  to  visit  his  store.  The  letter, 
mailed  at  10:00  A.  M.  brought  customers  into  the 
store  with  the  letter  by  3 :00  the  same  afternoon. 
The  letter  of  Dec.  7th  sold  over  600  of  that  special, 
which  was  all  he  had.  Connolly  sends  these  letters 
out  each  month — with  results  always  as  satisfactory 
as  the  instances  cited. 

Because  of  the  many  little  gifts  you  always  find  necessary  to 
give  at  Christmas,  I have  selected  an  extremely  inexpensive  arti- 
cle that  is  well  worth  your  attention. 

It  is  a tea  strainer  in  good  quality  plate,  gold  lined,  and  fitted 
with  an  ebonized  wood  handle.  The  design  is  excellent.  You 
will  not  realize  how  good  it  is  until  you  see  it.  Like  all  of  my 
goods  it  is  absolutely  guaranteed.  The  cost  is  39c. 

My  mailing  list  has  reached  almost  7,000.  Because  of  the  in- 
creased number  who  buy  these  specials  I am  able  to  purchase  at 
lower  prices.  The  specials  offered  you  are  offered  at  our  cost 
at  quantity  prices.  And  the  more  I can  sell,  the  cheaper  I can 
offer  these  specials  to  you. 

Generally  only  those  who  are  customers  of  this  store  are  put 
on  my  list  to  receive  specials.  Sometimes  a customer  asks  me  to 
put  on  a name  of  a friend.  This  I have  done.  Lately  so  many 
have  asked,  that  I have  offered  this  to  all.  If  you  have  a friend 
or  relative  whom  you  think  would  like  to  receive  these  specials, 
write  the  names  on  the  card  I have  enclosed.  Put  your  name 
at  the  bottom  and  mail  to  me.  I do  not  wish  a “large”  list  but 
just  one  of  interested  customers. 

I believe  this  service  will  be  of  increasing  value  in  the  coming 
months  and  desire  to  give  you  the  best  it  is  possible  to  offer.  As 
quantity  buying  alone  can  bring  down  the  price,  an  interested 
mailing  list  will  prove  to  our  mutual  advantage. 

Yours  for  better  “Specials”, 

HUGH  CONNOLLY, 

per  Roy  T.  Connolly. 

Last  month’s  tea  strainers  were  such  a success  that  your  spe- 
cial for  this  month  will  be  along  the  same  line;  an  excellent  gift 
for  a moderate  price. 


23 


Once  before,  1 offered  you  a sterling  pie  knife  at  less  than  cost 
of  a plated  one.  The  price  has  advanced  but  it  is  offered  for  the 
same  amount — 79c. 

If  you  haven’t  seen  it,  a surprise  awaits  you.  Full  size  with  a 
solid  silver  hollow  handle,  finely  plated  blade  and  of  a shape 
and  style  to  go  with  almost  any  pattern  now  on  the  market. 

This  pie  knife  will  be  for  sale  this  year  only  as  a customer’s 
special.  Please  get  yours  early  as  I haven’t  enough  to  supply 
the  demand.  Yours  truly, 

HUGH  CONNOLLY. 

Starting  Saturday,  December  9th  and  continuing  until  Christ- 
mas, this  store  will  remain  open  each  evening  until  nine  P.  M. 

W e will  make  every  effort  to  aid  and  satisfy  you  in  your  buy- 
ing, but  would-  request  you  to  shop  as  early  as  possible.  This  is 
because  of  the  limited  size  of  our  store. 

Follow-up  letters  are  nothing  more  or  less  than 
your  show  windows.  You  would  not  think  of  dress- 
ing a show  window  on  the  first  of  June  and  leaving  it 
unchanged  until  the  next  June.  You  change  your 
show  windows  continually  so  that  you  may  present 
to  the  buying  public  an  ever  changing  appeal  to  buy 
your  goods.  Mrs.  Jones  may  pass  your  window  to- 
day when  dress  goods  are  displayed,  and  be  uninter- 
ested; but  tomorrow  your  display  of  hosiery  may  at- 
tract her  to  your  store,  simply  because  she  happened 
to  need  hosiery  on  that  day.  That  applies  in  the 
same  sense  to  follow-up  letters.  The  only  difference 
is  that  you  take  a chance  on  Mrs.  Jones  passing  your 
window,  while  the  letter  goes  direct  to  her. 

Lumber  seems  a dry  sort  of  business,  but  “Burn- 
side,” the  lumber  man  of  Denver,  seems  to  inject  a 
lot  of  personality  into  his  follow-up  letter  advertis- 
ing, and  he  is  getting  results: 

As  a buying  guide,  my  list  will  make  more  money  for  you 
than  it  can  in  your  waste  basket. 

Unless  the  janitor  does  your  buying,  a waste  basket  is  no  place 
for  a perfectly  good  list. 


24 


Good  lumber,  (bought  at  a fair  price)  plus  service,  means 
profit  for  you. 

When  orders  are  generally  scarce,  a dependable  manufacturer 
suffers  least  for  want  of  them. 

That  is  because  “up-to-snuff”  retailers  have  learned  who  their 
business  friends  are. 

It  is  something  for  YOU  to  think  about. 

Yours  truly, 

J.  H.  BURNSIDE. 

The  durability  of  the  stock  you  buy  is  just  as  important  as 
the  dependability  of  the  firm  from  which  you  buy  it. 

Did  you  ever  handle  Red  Cedar  boards?  Did  you  know  you 
could  get  Red  Cedar  boards  just  as  well  as  Fir,  Hemlock,  or 
Pine? 

If  red  cedar  has  stood  the  test  of  being  put  into  the  ground 
and  put  on  a roof — the  two  hardest  tests  that  it  could  be  put  to — 
and  is  in  constant  demand,  do  you  not  think  it  would  stand  the 
rot  test  any  place  it  was  put? 

I can  supply  you  red  cedar  in  straight  or  mixed  cars  with 
shingles  and  fir.  I will  be  very  glad  to  quote  you  prices  on  ap- 
plication. This  stock  is  air  dried.  Try  some  of  it  in  a mixed 
car. 

SAY!  How  do  YOU  feel  about  YOUR  LOSS  of  money 
and  prestige,  caused  by  delays  on  “prompt”  shipments? 

Almost  any  old  mill  can  handle  easy  orders  that  you  aren’t 
in  much  of  a hurry  for;  it  takes  the  best  of  efficiency  and  organi- 
zation to  meet  emergencies.  If  you  will  send  me  your  HARD 
orders,  the  ones  you  are  in  a hurry  for,  I can  prove  to  you  the  re- 
liability of  the  mills  I represent  much  more  quickly,  for  you  will 
be  watching  for  results  and  performance  will  count  with  you 
where  pretty  sales  talk  would  only  be  an  aggravation. 

Shoot  your  hard  ones  in  to  me;  but  put  on  your  order  all  that 
you  want  in  the  car.  Do  not  expect  to  get  any  additions  in — 
unless  you  wire  them. 

When  you  send  in  your  orders,  be  sure  to  tell  me  if  you  are 
up  against  it,  for  your  need  always  brings  special  service.  I can 
smooth  out  the  wrinkles  caused  by  worry  over  delayed  ship- 
ments, and  bring  a smile  of  contentment  to  your  face. 

Yours  truly, 

J.  H.  BURNSIDE. 


25 


Gentlemen : — 

The  Gray’s  Harbor  Lumber  Company  of  Hoquiam,  Washing- 
ton, have  wired  me  that  they  want  to  sell  several  cars  of  2x4’s 
No.  1 Common  S1S1E,  assorted  as  follows  and  at  prices  shown. 


100 

2x4—8' 

No.  1 Common  S1S1E 

40c 

$14.00 

45c 

$15.25 

200 

“ 10 

U 

20.50 

21.75 

400 

“ 12 

U 

18.50 

19.75 

300 

“ 14 

U 

.......  18.50 

19.75 

500 

“ 16 

u 

19.50 

20.75 

400 

“ 18 

u 

20.50 

21.75 

200 

“ 20 

a 

20.50 

21.75 

This  is  the  only  assortment  I can  give  you  at  the  prices 
noted,  which  show  a discount  of  $5.50  off  on  10'  and  longer  and 
$10.00  off  on  8'  lengths.  This  is  first  class  stock.  I can  recom- 
mend it  to  you  highly. 

Wire  or  telephone  your  order  at  my  expense  for  a nicely  as- 
sorted car  of  2 x 4’s  like  the  above.  I am  only  authorized  to 
sell  a limited  number  of  cars  at  this  price,  as  .their  regular  dis- 
count is  $5.00  off  on  any  other  assortment  of  dimension.  Do  not 
wait — send  your  order  in  at  once.  If  I have  not  shown  deliv- 
ered price  on  your  rate  of  freight,  your  price  will  be  on  the  basis 
of  discount  noted  above  for  this  assortment. 

Yours  truly,  J.  H.  BURNSIDE, 

Our  country  is  prosperous — building  is  increasing — you  want 
the  best  of  service,  therefore  I am  expecting  a successful  New  Year. 

If  I had  no  business  from  you  last  year — I want  some  this 
year. 

If  you  sent  me  orders  last  year — I hope  for  more  this  year. 

I am  willing  to  work,  and  work  hard  for  them,  too. 

There  is  a difference  between  wishing  and  doing.  When  you 
want  accomplishment,  you  must  choose  those  that  have  ability,  the 
organization  and  the  capacity  to  do  your  will. 

Because  I am  determined  to  succeed,  I represent  only  success- 
ful firms  who  will  help  me  succeed ; firms  that  can  and  will  help 
you. 

I do  not  offer  you  better  grades  than  you  buy.  I do  offer  you 
stock  that  is  correctly  manufactured — graded  to  sell  and  stay 
sold.  I offer  you  intelligent  handling  of  orders  and  the  best  serv- 
ice a carefully  organized  system  is  capable  of  giving. 

In  order  to  care  for  customers  in  a way  that  will  bring  them 

26 


back  voluntarily,  time  after  time,  you  must  make  money.  So  must 
the  mills  I represent.  Therefore,  I do  not  try  to  lure  you  with 
price  alone — I offer  you  reliability  and  reasonable  prices. 

Today,  the  market  is  strong  and  is  properly  represented  by  the 
enclosed  list.  Sales  are  and  have  been  greater  than  cut  and  ship- 
ments. By  placing  your  orders  at  once,  you  will  insure  yourself 
against  further  price  advances  and  of  better  deliveries. 

The  “BURNSIDE  WAY”  can  help  you.  The  sooner  I 
have  a chance,  the  more  I can  help  and  I want  to  do  a lot  for 
you  this  year. 

I will  appreciate  having  you  tell  me  how  I can  do  it  best. 

Yours  truly, 

J.  H.  BURNSIDE. 

Merry  Christmas  and  Happy  New  Year  to  you  and  yours. 

May  each  day  in  this  Holiday  Season  be  overflowing  with 
good  cheer  and  much  pleasure  for  you  and  may  you  be  very 
happy  and  very  successful  all  through  the  coming  year. 

I owe  it  to  you,  in  part,  that  MY  business  has  been  so  pleas- 
ant and  successful  this  year.  True — I haven’t  had  any  of  your 
orders — but,  it  has  been  good  to  have  the  chance  to  TRY  for 
them.  Sort  of  puts  “pep”  in  a fellow  to  have  to  work  for  things 
he  wants — makes  the  game  worth  while.  It  is  going  to  seem 
mighty  good  to  get  orders  from  you  this  next  year. 

You  know,  just  getting  orders  doesn’t  satisfy  me.  To  me,  they 
are  the  means  of  making  staunch  friends,  of  building  confidence 
and  of  having  a part  in  making  your  business  both  pleasant  and 
profitable. 

In  Nineteen  Seventeen,  don’t  wait  until  you  want  to  BUY 
something.  My  experience  and  best  efforts  are  always  at  your 
service  and  I want  very  much  to  help  make  Nineteen  Seventeen 
a good  year  for  you.  Sincerely, 

J.  H.  BURNSIDE. 

The  ordinary  business  man  usually  thinks  “his 
business  is  different” — plans  that  succeed  in  similar 
lines  would  fail  for  him.  That  sort  of  man  would 
never  try  to  advertise  Macaroni  through  the  mail — 
but  the  Southern  Macaroni  Manufacturing  Co.,  of 
New  Orleans,  is  not  an  ordinary  concern.  Their  let- 

27 


ter  A33  was  written  to  secure  contracts.  It  pulled 
$296.07  in  actual  orders  from  new  accounts  and 
$8902.95  in  contracts.  Sales  Manager  Loughney 
calls  this  the  “$9000  letter,”  and  it  cost  the  firm  only 
$57.08.  THE  SALES  EXPENSE  ON  CON- 
TRACTS WAS  ONLY  SIX  TENTHS  OF  ONE 
PER  CENT.  Letter  A49  had  a post  card  enclosure 
that  enabled  Mr.  Loughney  to  key  it,  and  counting 
only  the  traceable  results  of  this  letter,  it  produced 
$2793.00  in  orders  for  prompt  shipment.  The  letters 
cost  $21.61.  The  sales  expense  was  seven-tenths  of 
one  per  cent.  Letters  FI -2-3  and  4 were  used  in  a 
campaign  ahead  of  the  Southern  Macaroni  salesmen 
in  a new  territory  where  practically  no  sales  had 
been  made  prior  to  this  campaign.  The  letters  were 
mailed  every  other  day,  and  the  final  letter  was  timed 
to  reach  the  buyer  just  before  the  salesman  arrived. 
This  “drive”  produced  $3640.65  in  new  business  for 
prompt  shipment  in  three  weeks.  Sales  expense,  in- 
cluding salary  and  traveling  expense  of  salesman, 
was  eight-tenths  of  one  per  cent. 

Haven’t  you  seen  reduced  profits  staring  you  in  the  face  be- 
cause of  the  present  situation  in  the  flour  and  paper  markets? 
Hasn’t  your  profit  already  been  cut  because  of  the  advanced  price 
on  products  using  flour  in  their  manufacture  and  on  products 
packed  in  card  board  cartons  and  fibre  containers?  Then  you 
will  find  this  letter  mighty  interesting  and  will  look  on  it  as  an 
opportunity. 

Let’s  take  the  macaroni  end  of  your  business.  The  leading 
manufacturers  in  the  country  have  in  the  past  offered  their 
brands  of  macaroni  at  $1.80  for  the  10c  size,  and  $1.90  for  the 
5c  size  with  a free  deal  of  one  on  ten,  and  a jobber’s  discount  of 
15%.  These  prices  were  based  on  their  ability  to  buy  macaroni 
flour  on  a basis  of  $5.00  and  $5.50  a barrel  as  in  former  years. 
The  price  on  macaroni  flour  this  year  ranges  from  $8.00  to  $8.50 
a barrel,  and  there  are  prospects  of  this  price  going  still  higher. 

Formerly  cartons  for  macaroni  cost  from  8c  to  10c  a box.  Now 
they  cost  from  14c  to  18c  and  it  seems  probable  that  the  highest 

28 


price  has  not  been  reached.  Fibre  containers  that  once  cost  5c  to 
5^4c  each  now  cost  from  10c  to  12c  each,  and  there  is  no  use 
telling  you  that  wages  have  advanced  from  15  to  30%.  You  can 
see  this  on  your  own  books.  There  is  very  little  hope  for  an  early 
change  in  the  present  conditions.  Many  macaroni  and  spaghetti 
manufacturers  have  already  discontinued  their  free  deal,  and 
eventually  they  may  be  compelled  to  reduce  the  jobbers’  discount 
or  advance  their  list  price. 

I am  giving  you  an  opportunity  to  protect  yourself  on  your 
macaroni  and  spaghetti  requirements  at  a fair  price  until  March 
1st,  1917.  The  enclosed  contract  offers  you  high  quality,  guar- 
anteed, LUXURY  brand  macaroni,  spaghetti  and  elbows  at: 

24 — 10c  size  packages  to  the  box  @ 1.80 
48 — 5c  size  packages  to  the  box  @ 1.90 
Less  15%  delivered;  with  2%  additional 
for  cash  10  days. 

WE  ALSO  GIVE  A FREE  DEAL  OF  ONE  BOX  WITH 
EVERY  TEN. 

Will  you  sign  it  today,  fill  it  out  with  your  requirements  until 
March  1st,  1917,  and  return  it  to  me?  I will  then  return  to  you 
a signed  copy  for  your  files. 

Because  of  conditions  already  discussed,  this  offer  can’t  be  held 
open  very  long.  It  will  be  necessary  for  us  to  buy  flour  in  order 
to  protect  you,  and  we  will  have  to  move  quickly.  This  offer, 
therefore,  is  subject  to  immediate  acceptance. 

I am  sure  you  recognize  this  as  a real  opportunity,  so  why 
not  send  in  the  contract  while  it  is  fresh  in  your  mind? 

Yours  for  protection, 

SOUTHERN  MACARONI  MFG  CO., 

A3 3 R.  A.  LOUGHNEY, 

Sales  Mgr. 

Well,  the  excitement  is  over  and  we  are  getting  down  to  busi- 
ness with  new  plans  and  new  enthusiasms  for  the  coming  year. 
I sincerely  hope  your  most  progressive  and  profitable  plans  will 
pan  out  successfully. 

I just  want  to  tell  you  of  a good  resolution  that  will  not  be 
used  as  a paving  block  where  New  Year  resolutions  are  supposed 
to  go.  We  have  made  up  our  minds  to  make  the  LUXURY  ac- 
count bigger  and  better  for  you  this  year.  New  equipment  and 
new  facilities  for  handling  our  macaroni  and  spaghetti  will  en- 

29 


able  us  to  turn  out  a product  that  is  even  finer  than  the  splendid 
quality  you  have  been  receiving. 

We  want  to  start  the  New  Year  right  by  including  in  our 
good  resolution  prompt  service — but  I will  need  your  co-opera- 
tion*. Everybody  stopped  buying  during  the  latter  part  of  De- 
cember, and  orders  are  coming  in  now  in  such  quantities  as  to 
make  me  dubious  about  our  ability  to  give  you  prompt  service 
unless  we  get  some  idea  regarding  the  date  you  will  need  an- 
other shipment  of  LUXURY. 

You,  of  course,  understand  that  we  will  have  to  take  orders 
as  they  come  and  fill  them.  Won’t  you,  therefore,  drop  me  the 
enclosed  post  card  giving  me  a shipping  date  on  the  card  so  that 
we  can  handle  it  efficiently  and  prevent  unnecessary  or  annoying 
delays? 

I am  sure  you  will  need  some  LUXURY  soon.  You  may 
even  need  it  right  away,  so  will  you  give  this  your  prompt  atten- 
tion and  mail  the  card  today? 

Yours  for  service, 

A49  R.  A.  LOUGHNEY, 

Sales  Mgr. 

How  is  the  weather  today  in 

Down  in  New  Orleans  I am  sitting  in  my  shirt  sleeves  at  the 
desk,  the  windows  are  open  and  there  is  a fine  breeze.  It  is 
mighty  pleasant  and  today  is  no  exception.  Most  of  our  days 
are  warm.  Personally  I would  rather  kick  around  for  about 
half  an  hour  in  a good  healthy  snowdrift  but — this  is  just  the 
kind  of  weather  to  make  good  macaroni.  That  is  why  LUX- 
URY has  proven  its  superior  quality  in  competitive  tests  all  over 
the  United  States. 

It  is  cured  by  nature,  and  you,  of  course,  appreciate  that  when 
nature  gets  busy  on  the  job  she  can  outdo  any  artificial  propo- 
sition. The  latest  type  Mazda  can’t  beat  the  sun  nor  can  the 
latest  type  steam-heating  device  beat  old  Sol  when  it  comes  to 
curing  macaroni  and  spaghetti. 

I am  sorry  you  have  not  time  today  to  listen  to  an  explana- 
tion of  how  we  make  LUXURY.  I know  a demonstration  of 
our  manufacturing  methods  would  enable  you  to  see  why  we  so 
cheerfully  guarantee  LUXURY  brand  macaroni,  spaghetti,  el- 
bows, etc.,  to  give  absolute  satisfaction. 

Yours  for  a prosperous  1917, 

FI  R.  A.  LOUGHNEY, 

Sales  Mgr. 


30 


A couple  of  weeks  ago  we  started  a new  account — one  of  the 
biggest  wholesale  grocers  in  the  West.  He  tried  a little  LUX- 
URY macaroni  and  spaghetti  and  today  we  received  a letter  tell- 
ing us  what  he  thought  of  it. 

He  is  highly  enthusiastic.  He  has  placed  a big  order  for  an 
additional  supply  and  he  says  frankly,  “Your  product  is  the  near- 
est to  the  genuine  imported  Italian  macaroni  and  spaghetti  we 
have  got  hold  of  and  we  know  we  can  place  it  to  good  advan- 
tage.” 

It  is  usual  to  think  of  Italy  when  we  think  of  the  best  maca- 
roni. When  we  started  to  make  LUXURY  macaroni  and  spa- 
ghetti we  had  this  in  mind.  The  enclosed  letter  from  the  captain 
of  an  Italian  steamship  will  give  you  an  idea  of  how  closely  we 
have  followed  our  ideal.  This  letter  was  written  some  time  ago. 
The  captain  was  in  again  last  week  to  order  a supply  for  his 
next  voyage.  Yours  for  a prosperous  1917, 

F2  R.  A.  LOUGHNEY,  Sales  Mgr. 

Primarily  the  retailer  is  in  business  to  make  a profit.  So  are 
you  and  so  are  we.  There  are  two  ways  of  figuring  a profit, 
however: — First  a big  profit  on  a sale  that  won’t  repeat;  Second 
a fair  profit  on  a sale  that  shows  a quick  repeat  through  the  sell- 
ing of  goods  which  are  satisfactory. 

It  is  about  a sale  which  repeats  that  I want  to  talk.  It  re- 
peats through  quality.  In  other  words,  the  buyer  is  satisfied  and 
comes  back  for  more.  They  have  to  try  it  the  first  time,  how- 
ever, before  they  can  determine  its  quality.  So  an  article  must 
have  an  attractive  appearance,  otherwise  it  is  hard  to  make  the 
first  sale. 

The  LUXURY  macaroni  and  spaghetti  carton  is  distinctive. 
It  looks  like  quality  at  the  first  glance.  The  color  scheme  is 
attractive  and  the  carton  is  a high  grade  piece  of  first-class 
lithography.  It  attracts  and  pleases  the  eye,  therefore,  it  is  very 
easy  to  convince  the  buyer  that  the  quality  of  the  contents  is  in 
keeping  with  the  outside  appearance. 

That  is  why  LUXURY  sells  so  quickly  the  first  time.  The  re- 
tailer sees  the  sample  and  it  attracts  his  eye.  He  knows  if  it  is 
attractive  to  him  it  will  be  attractive  to  the  consumer,  so  I believe 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  we  have  taken  care  of  the  first  step 
in  successfully  merchandising  LUXURY  macaroni  and  spaghetti. 

Yours  for  a prosperous  1917, 

R.  A.  LOUGHNEY,  Sales  Mgr. 
31 


F3 


Your  time  is  valuable,  I realize  this  and  I,  therefore  feel  sure 
you  will  appreciate  the  effort  I have  made  to  save  it.  I have  writ- 
ten you  a number  of  letters  giving  you  different  points  on  LUX- 
URY macaroni  and  spaghetti.  I showed  you  that  we  made  possi- 
ble a quick  first  sale  because  of  an  attractive  carton.  I showed 
you  we  had  quality  and  this  quality  brings  repeat  business. 

There  is  another  feature  about  LUXURY  macaroni  and  spa- 
ghetti which  will  be  interesting  to  you.  Our  carton  is  wrapped 
in  a high  grade  of  heavy  wax  paper.  This  wrapping  is  perfectly 
sealed  by  automatic  machinery.  It  is  air-tight  and  moisture  proof 
and  in  these  days  of  sanitary  precautions  you  can  readily  under- 
stand how  LUXLTRY  will  make  an  impression  on  the  woman 
who  buys  food  for  her  family. 

Many  a good  brand  loses  out  on  repeat  business  because 
of  the  inability  of  the  purchaser  to  remember  the  name.  “LUX- 
URY” is  a word  that  is  used  in  every  day  conversation.  It  is 
easy  to  remember. 

Because  of  the  curing  process  that  LUXURY  undergoes  it 
takes  less  time  to  thoroughly  cook  our  macaroni  and  spaghetti 
than  any  other  brand  with  which  we  have  come  into  active  com- 
petition. 

The  carton  attracts  the  eye  for  the  first  sale.  The  wax  paper 
wrapping  insures  a clean  package.  It  looks  good  on  the  table  and 
its  appetizing  appearance  goes  a long  way  in  reselling  it.  In  addi- 
tion it  tastes  good  because  it  is  made  of  the  right  kind  of  flour, 
and  we  know  from  experience  that  once  LUXURY  is  used  in  a 
territory  it  sticks. 

I have  told  you  these  points,  as  I say,  in  an  effort  to  save  your 
time.  I have  in  mind  the  saving  of  the  time  of  our  salesman. 
With  your  present  knowledge  of  LUXURY  you  will  be  in  a po- 
sition to  talk  to  him  quickly  and  I know  you  will  be  interested  in 
a trial  order. 

Normally,  when  an  argument  like  ours  is  advanced  it  is  gener- 
ally in  the  way  of  explanation  for  a high  price.  You,  therefore, 
will  be  agreeably  surprised  to  learn  the  price  at  which  we  are  sell- 
ing LUXURY.  It  is  lower  than  our  standard  competitors. 

Mr.  Blackman,  our  salesman,  will  be  in He  will  have 

samples  of  LUXURY  and  once  you  see  them  you  will  be  con- 
vinced that  our  story  of  quality  has  a true  ring.  He  will  quote 
you  a price  that  will  be  an  agreeable  surprise  in  these  days  of  high 
prices.  I believe  his  visit  will  result  in  a mutually  satisfactory 
arrangement.  Yours  for  business, 

F4  R.  A.  LOUGHNEY,  Sales  Mgr. 

32 


Thus  we  see  the  wonderful  combination  of  the 
follow-up  letter  and  the  salesman.  The  prime  object 
of  all  advertising  is  to  interest  people  in  something 
that  you  have  for  sale.  A salesman  is  supposed  to 
be  competent  enough  to  increase  that  original  inter- 
est into  an  order.  You  cannot  “time”  display  adver- 
tising so  that  it  will  reach  a prospective  customer 
just  before  the  salesman  calls.  But  you  can  “time” 
a letter,  and  thus  you  get  all  the  benefit  of  the  “inter- 
est” your  advertising  creates. 

The  New  York  office  of  the  Grand  Rapids  Fur- 
niture Co.  first  sent  out  an  illustrated  letter  to  a list 
of  3000  names,  and  were  so  satisfied  with  the  results 
that  they  have  gradually  added  names  until  they 
now  have  a list  of  more  than  100,000.  The  real  ob- 
ject of  all  retail  advertising  is  to  draw  people  into 
the  store , and  the  big  volume  of  business  must  come 
from  additional  goods  sold,  other  than  the  particular 
article  that  drew  the  visitor  to  the  store.  If  Mrs. 
Vanderlip  receives  a letter  offering  to  help  her  on 
color  schemes,  she  may  visit  the  store  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  getting  just  that  information,  but  a clever 
salesman  will  politely  draw  out  her  various  other  de- 
sires, and  probably  land  a nice  order — in  all  of  which 
transaction  both  the  customer  and  the  store  is  bene- 
fited. 

Dear  Madam : 

You  are  entirely  welcome  to  any  suggestions  in  color  scheme  or 
design  without  our  intruding  in  any  way  on  your  preferences,  or 
those  of  your  decorator. 

We  shall  be  pleased  to  have  you  visit  our  galleries  or  send  for 
sketches  of  any  particular  article  of  furniture  you  are  considering. 

You  will  find  our  service  department  entirely  free  of  sales  ef- 
fort, just  as  we  have  conducted  it  for  many  years. 

Yours  very  truly, 

GRAND  RAPIDS  FURNITURE  CO., 

W.  F.  STEWART,  Gen.  Mgr. 

33 


One  retail  store  manager  makes  it  a rule  that  a 
head  of  one  department  must  write  one  letter  each 
week,  and  that  letter  is  sent  to  the  follow-up  list.  As 
there  are  about  twenty  departments,  the  prospective 
customer  receives  a different  appeal  in  each  letter, 
and  it  is  almost  impossible  to  send  twenty  letters, 
on  twenty  different  articles,  without  striking  ONE 
that  the  customer  needs  at  that  very  moment.  And 
do  not  overlook  the  fact  that  the  other  nineteen  let- 
ters ARE  NOT  WASTED.  They  are  advertising 
of  the  highest  tvpe,  and  they  are  STAMPING 
THE  NAME  OF  THAT  STORE,  and  its  goods, 
indelibly  on  the  customer’s  mind. 

An  interesting  story  has  come  to  my  attention  re- 
garding the  Tel-Tex  Manufacturing  Co.,  of  Terrell, 
Texas,  makers  of  blouses,  aprons,  house  dresses,  etc. 
At  the  time  these  people  took  up  direct-mail  adver- 
tising their  business  seemed  hopelessly  involved. 
They  were  unable  to  pay  the  expenses  of  a salesman, 
and  were  forced  to  turn  to  some  simple,  and  ex- 
tremely rapid  and  direct  method  of  getting  immedi- 
ate orders.  In  less  than  six  months,  with  follow-up 
letters,  this  concern  was  on  the  road  to  permanent 
success,  and  today,  a successful  concern,  they  are  do- 
ing 90%  of  their  business  by  mail. 

The  Texas  Seed  & Floral  Co.,  Dallas,  Texas,  had 
been  sending  their  catalog  to  anyone  requesting  it, 
and  in  many  cases  never  heard  anything  further 
from  the  catalog.  Very  few  orders  came  in  from 
that  source.  They  adopted  the  plan  of  sending  letter 
No.  1 to  everyone  requesting  a catalog,  with  the  re- 
sult that  business  has  greatly  increased.  In  the  back 
of  the  catalog  is  a page  requesting  the  recipient  to 
send  in  a list  of  names  of  neighbors  or  friends,  in 
return  for  which  courtesy  they  are  given  a few  pack- 

34 


ages  of  free  seed.  This  has  built  up  a big  mailing 
list,  to  which  letter  No.  2 is  sent,  which  has  also  pro- 
duced big  business. 

Your  letter  just  received  asking  for  one  of  our  catalogs.  We 
are  very  glad  to  send  it  to  you  under  separate  cover.  If  it 
does  not  reach  you  promptly  please  let  us  know  and  we  will  send 
another  one. 

The  catalog  we  are  sending  you  is  our  1917  general  spring  cat- 
alog. We  have  listed  this  year  many  new  varieties  of  garden  and 
field  seed  with  our  regular  standard  ones.  We  are  offering  as 
prizes  $500.00  in  cash  and  we  trust  that  some  of  them  will  be  of 
interest  to  you. 

You  will  note  that  we  have  the  only  Seed  Laboratory  in  the 
Southwest.  We  also  have  the  only  Trial  Grounds,  which  is  oper- 
ated by  an  expert  in  order  to  determine  the  best  varieties  of  seed 

for  the  South  and  Southwest.  It  is  our  aim  to  give  you  the  very 

best  that  money  can  buy. 

If  after  looking  over  our  catalog  there  are  any  questions  you 
would  like  to  ask  about  our  seeds,  plants  or  bulbs,  the  method  of 
cultivation  regarding  any  crops,  please  do  not  hesitate  to  write  us, 
as  it  will  only  be  a pleasure  to  help  you  in  any  way  that  we  can. 

Any  order  sent  us  will  have  our  very  careful  attention  and  will 
he  fully  appreciated. 

Yours  respectfully, 

THE  TEXAS  SEED  AND  FLORAL  CO. 

We  are  mighty  glad  to  tell  you  that  one  of  your  friends  has 

given  us  your  name  stating  that  you  are  interested  in  good 

Seeds,  Plants,  Blubs,  etc.,  and  that  you  would  like  to  see  one  of 
our  catalogs  and  we  are  glad  indeed  to  mail  you  one  today.  If  it 
does  not  reach  you  promptly,  please  advise  us  so  we  can  send  you 
another  one. 

This  is  our  1917  general  catalog,  it  is  a very  large  book,  in  fact, 
it  is  more  than  a catalog — it  is  really  a guide  to  farming  and  gar- 
dening in  the  South  and  Southwest.  We  keep  a very  careful  rec- 
ord of  our  customers,  but  we  do  not  find  your  name  in  our  records 
and  we  certainly  want  you  for  a permanent  customer. 

You  will  note  in  our  catalog  that  we  have  the  only  private 
Seed  Laboratory  in  the  Southwest.  We  also  have  our  own  Trial 
Grounds  where  we  are  constantly  testing  out  new  varieties  in 
order  that  we  may  offer  our  customers  Seeds  and  Plants  that  suc- 
ceed in  this  climate. 


35 


We  are  surely  going  to  look  for  a trial  order,  but  if  you  are  not 
in  the  market  just  now,  possibly  you  would  like  to  have  some  in- 
formation about  some  particular  Seeds,  Plants  or  Bulbs  or  you 
might  like  to  have  some  advice  with  reference  to  some  particular 
crop  that  will  do  the  best  on  your  land.  We  will  only  be  too  glad 
to  have  you  write  fully  so  that  we  can  help  you  in  every  way  pos- 
sible. Trusting  that  we  may  hear  from  you  promptly  as  we  are 
anxious  to  serve  you. 

Yours  very  truly, 

THE  TEXAS  SEED  AND  FLORAL  CO. 

On  Sunday.  Dec.  1 Oth,  1916,  the  Newark  Branch 
of  the  Detroit  Cadillac  Motor  Car  Company  re- 
ceived a telegram  from  the  factory  announcing  an 
increase  in  price  on  all  Cadillac  cars,  to  be  effective 
at  midnight,  Dec.  Nth.  By  noon  Monday  7000  per- 
sonally addressed  letters  were  in  the  mail.  We  can’t 
get  Sales  Manager  Benj.  C.  Mott  to  “loosen  up” 
with  actual  figures,  but  he  does  say:  “The  amount 
of  returns  which  we  derived  from  this  letter  in  act- 
ual sales  I won’t  tell  you,  for  you  wouldn’t  believe 
it.  Sufficient  to  say,  we  did  two  months’  work  in 
four  davs’  time.”  Just  think  of  that — TWO 
MONTHS’  work  done  in  FOUR  DAYS.  An  im- 
possible feat  with  salesmen.  An  impossible  feat  with 
any  other  type  of  advertising.  Just  four  days  existed 
in  which  to  get  that  information  into  the  hands  of 
possible  buyers,  and  the  information  HAD  TO  GO 
DIRECT.  There  was  no  taking  chances  that  the 
possible  buyer  might  read  it  in  the  paper.  ONE 
follow-up  letter  did  the  work. 

Mr.  E.  G.  Ward,  December  11,  1916. 

65  Van  Ness  Place,  Newark,  N.  J. 

Dear  Mr.  Ward: 

An  announcement  of  the  greatest  importance  has  just  been  re- 
ceived by  us  from  our  factory  in  Detroit. 

At  midnight  on  Thursday,  December  14th,  the  prices  of  all 

36 


Cadillac  automobiles  will  be  increased  one  hundred  sixty  dollars 
($160.00).  This  increase  has  been  necessitated  by  the  increase  in 
cost  of  materials,  labor,  etc.  Our  factory  was  faced  with  the 
problem  of  either  an  increase  in  price  or  a decrease  in  quality.  It 
has  ever  been  the  policy  of  the  Cadillac  Motor  Car  Company  to 
build  their  car  better,  hence  the  increase  in  price. 

All  orders  placed  before  Thursday,  the  14th,  will  be  booked  at 
present  prices.  Therefore,  if  you  expect  to  purchase  a Cadillac 
car  this  year,  we  would  suggest  that  you  ’phone  immediately  and 
put  yourself  in  a position  to  save  this  one  hundred  ^sixty  dollars 
($160.00). 

We  are  arranging  to  keep  our  salesroom  open  evenings  until 
Thursday  to  make  it  easy  for  interested  persons  to  view  our  var- 
ious models. 

Also,  we  are  enclosing  return  envelope  and  hope  you  will  ad- 
vise us  whether  or  not  you  are  interested.  We  will  be  very  glad 
to  forward  you  contracts  covering  the  purchase  of  one  of  our  var- 
ious models,  and  make  the  entire  transaction  subject  to  satisfac- 
tory demonstration  at  some  future  date.  We  are  also  enclosing 
copy  of  telegram  received  from  the  factory  which  will  make  clear 
our  position.  Will  you  not  let  us  hear  from  you  at  once? 

Very  truly  yours, 

DETROIT  CADILLAC  MOTOR  CAR  CO. 

BENJ.  C.  MOTT, 

Sales  Manager. 

Every  once  in  a while  you  see  an  advertisement  in 
which  some  firm  makes  an  attempt  at  “putting  their 
business  pride”  into  the  copy.  It’s  hard  work — and 
it  takes  years  of  general  publicity  to  get  the  general 
public  to  believe  that  such  advertising  is  sincere. 
Display  advertising  is  too  “cold” — too  impersonal. 
You  can’t  get  confidential.  Your  business  may  be 
built  on  honor,  and  you  may  be  quite  sincere  in  ad- 
vertising the  fact,  but  the  statement  carries  a lot 
more  weight  if  you  pluck  a fellow  by  the  sleeve  and 
get  him  off  in  a corner  and  tell  him  about  it.  We  are 
not  prone  to  believe  the  fellow  who  shouts  his  vir- 
tues from  the  housetops. 


37 


Firman  L.  Carswell,  president  of  the  Kansas  City 
company  that  bears  his  name,  is  proud  of  his  prod- 
uct, and  willing  to  back  his  judgment.  But  he 
doesn’t  make  much  public  fuss  about  it.  We  are  re- 
producing two  of  Mr.  Carswell’s  letters,  which  he 
states  pulled  an  average  of  75%  in  actual  orders. 

I am  ready  to  prove  every  word  I have  written  you  about  the 
Road  Boss  by  letting  you  be  the  Judge  and  Jury.  I am  willing 
to  trust  you  before  I ask  you  to  trust  me. 

If  you  can  think  of  a fairer  or  squarer  plan  than  for  me  to  send 
you  the  grader  all  freight  charges  prepaid  with  the  understanding 
that  you  can  return  it  to  me  at  my  expense  after  90  days  free  use 
if  not  satisfactory  in  every  way,  then  I want  you  to  write  me 
what  it  is  and  I will  agree  to  it.  I know  the  Road  Boss  will 
stand  up  back  of  any  engine  and  on  any  road,  and  I want  you  to 
know  it.  I know  it  will  save  you  at  least  one-third  the  cost  of 
grading  and  I want  you  to  know  it. 

The  machine  itself  is  my  proof.  Take  it  and  use  it  and  see  for 
yourself  what  it  will  save  you  in  the  cost  of  grading.  If  the  work 
it  does  isn’t  satisfactory,  send  the  machine  back  to  me  at  my  ex- 
pense and  it  will  not  have  cost  you  one  penny  for  the  time  you 
have  used  it. 

Consider  my  price  of  $595.00  freight  paid.  It  means  a clear 
saving  to  you  of  at  least  $100.00.  More  than  this,  I ask  you  to 
compare  the  actual  construction  of  the  Road  Boss  with  that  of 
graders  selling  through  Agents  at  $100.00  or  more  than  my  price 
on  the  Road  Boss.  I am  telling  you  the  truth  when  I say  that  I 
could  cut  an  easy  $100.00  out  of  the  cost  of  building  the  Road 
Boss  by  substituting  cheaper  material,  but  if  I did  this  I COULD 
NOT  GUARANTEE  THE  ROAD  BOSS  FOR  TWO 
YEARS  AGAINST  BREAKAGE  and  I could  not  afford  to 
take  the  risk  of  sending  it  to  you  freight  paid  on  90  days  free 
trial  with  the  privilege  of  sending  it  back  to  me  at  my  expense, 
because  I would  be  afraid  the  machine  would  not  stand  up. 

It  is  possible  to  use  a light  grader  with  an  engine  just  as  it  is 
possible  to  haul  corn  in  a spring  wagon  but  the  result  in  either 
case  is  not  satisfactory.  It  is  impossible  to  hold  a light  grader  to 
its  work  because  there  isn’t  weight  enough  to  keep  it  on  the 
ground.  The  result  is  when  you  strike  an  obstruction  with  a light 
grader  you  either  break  the  machine  or  it  jumps  over  the  obstruc- 
tion. The  big  Road  Boss  plows  right  through  no  matter  how 

38 


hard  or  how  tough  the  ground  is.  The  Road  Boss  will  not  quarry 
rock  or  pull  stumps,  but:  it  is  a safe  grader  to  use  in  both  rocky 
and  stumpy  ground  and  it  will  stand  more  use  and  abuse  than 
any  other  10-foot  grader  ever  built.  This  is  a strong  statement 
but  I stand  back  of  it  absolutely  and  will  prove  it  to  your  satis- 
faction if  you  will  write  me  to  send  you  the  Road  Boss  freight 
paid  on  free  trial. 

Write  your  own  terms  under  which  you  are  willing  to  try  the 
Road  Boss  and  let  me  hear  from  you.  You  will  begin  to  save 
money  the  day  the  Road  Boss  begins  to  work  for  you. 

Hoping  to  hear  from  you,  and  with  best  wishes  and  kind  re- 
gards, I am 

Sincerely  yours, 


You  have  touched  the  pride  of  my  business  when  you  ask  me  to 
tell  you  about  the  Road  Boss,  because  this  grader  was  built  good 
enough  to  ship  out  freight  paid  on  90  days  free  trial  with  the 
understanding  that  if  it  breaks  or  doesn’t  save  you  a third  in  the 
cost  of  your  grading  over  the  old  method  of  doing  the  work  with 
horses,  you  are  to  send  the  machine  back  to  me  at  my  expense  and 
your  township  won’t  be  out  a penny. 

That’s  a pretty  liberal  offer,  isn’t  it?  Absolutely  you  take  not 
one  chance  in  the  world  when  you  tell  me  to  send  you  the  Road 
Boss.  The  machine  must  be  strong  enough  to  do  your  work — it 
must  make  good  everything  I claim  for  it  or  back  the  machine 
comes  at  my  expense. 

Consider  my  price  of  $595.00  freight  paid  to  your  station — an 
easy  $100.00  less  than  any  other  ten  foot  blade  machine  that  can 
begin  to  compare  with  the  Road  Boss.  Compare  the  specifications 
with  those  of  other  machines  and  then  you  will  really  begin  to 
appreciate  this  machine. 

It  has  a mold  board  24  inch  thick;  the  heaviest  ever  used  on 
any  grader  at  any  price;  it  has  the  strongest  front  and  rear  axle 
ever  used  on  any  grader  at  any  price  and  the  machine  can  be 
shifted  on  the  rear  axle  through  positive  worm  gears  so  quickly 
and  easily  that  a ten  year  old  boy  can  do  it.  This  is  a true  state- 
ment or  I wouldn’t  put  it  in  this  letter.  Not  only  are  the  fea- 
tures I have  mentioned  better  than  you  can  find  on  any  other 
grader  regardless  of  price  but  every  single  thing  about  the  Road 
Boss  is  substantially  and  carefully  built. 

Unless  the  engine  grader  you  order  WILL  HOLD  UP  ON 
THE  WORST  ROADS  YOU  HAVE  AND  NOT  BREAK 


39 


it  certainly  is  not  a success  and  not  the  machine  you  want.  Nat- 
urally the  first  question  you  ask  is  “Will  your  machine  hold  up 
back  of  any  steam  or  gas  tractor  regardless  of  power  or  size,  or 
the  condition  of  the  road?”  and  my  answer  is  YES.  If  my  grader 
doesn’t  hold  up,  then  ship  it  back  to  me  at  my  expense  and  your 
township  will  not  be  out  one  penny. 

Another  thing:  The  Road  Boss  is  guaranteed  against  break- 
age for  two  years  and  any  part  breaking  in  this  time,  flaw  or  no 
flaw,  will  be  replaced  absolutely  free  of  charge  to  your  township. 

THIS  IS  THE  ONLY  GRADER  BUILT  THAT  CARRIES 
THIS  GUARANTEE  BACKED  BY  A RESPONSIBLE 
CONCERN. 

When  a man  knows  he  is  right  it’s  easy  for  him  to  tell  his 
story.  I know  I am  right  when  I say  that  money  can’t  buy  a 
grader  built  as  substantially  as  the  Road  Boss  and  I am  telling 
you  the  truth  when  I say  that  practically  $10,000.00  was  spent 
in  perfecting  this  grader  and  making  it  the  splendid  machine  that 
it  is.  My  customers  did  not  pay  any  of  this  money,  either.  The 
first  few  Road  Boss  graders  I built  did  not  suit  me  and  after 
seeing  them  in  operation  I did  not  believe  they  would  stand  up  as 
they  should  SO  WE  PUT  AN  EXPERT  ON  EVERY  ONE 
OF  THESE  GRADERS  and  staved  with  the  machines  for  three 
months  and  then  WE  BUILT  THE  PRESENT  ROAD  BOSS. 

After  proving  beyond  all  question  of  doubt  that  the  Road  Boss 
was  as  nearly  INDESTRUCTIBLE  as  it  was  possible  to  build 
a grader  I VOLUNTARILY  WITHOUT  BEING  ASKED 
TOOK  BACK  EVERY  ONE  OF  THE  FIRST  ROAD  BOSS 
GRADERS  THAT  I HAD  SHIPPED  OUT  AND  GAVE 
EACH  CUSTOMER  ONE  OF  THE  BRAND  NEW  MA- 
CHINES. To  replace  each  one  of  these  machines  and  do  the 
other  things  that  resulted  in  the  present  Road  Boss  Grader,  cost 
more  than  I made  last  year  on  all  of  my  grader  business  and  sev- 
eral thousand  dollars  besides,  but  this  was  the  only  square  thing 
to  do,  and  I did  it. 

You  won’t  find  a Carswell  Road  Boss  anywhere  that  isn’t  mak- 
ing good  and  if  you  put  a Road  Boss  on  your  roads  it  will  make 
good,  too;  and  you  can  feel  absolutely  sure  that  I will  stand  back 
of  the  machine  and  see  that  it  gives  you  the  service  and  satisfac- 
tion you  are  entitled  to. 

I will  do  this  as  cheerfully  after  you  have  paid  for  the  machine 
as  I will  before  BECAUSE  YOUR  SATISFACTION  IS  THE 
VERY  HEART  AND  LIFE  OF  MY  BUSINESS. 


40 


I am  honest  in  saying  to  you  that  I believe  if  you  will  take  the 
Road  Boss  and  use  it  this  year  that  it  will  just  about  pay  for  it- 
self in  the  extra  work  you  will  get  done.  Men  who  are  using  the 
Road  Boss  make  greater  claims  for  it  than  I do.  They  say  you 
can  save  a third  to  a half  the  cost  of  grading  as  compared  with 
the  cost  of  doing  the  work  with  a light  grader. 

There  is  no  lost  time,  no  lost  motion  with  the  Road  Boss.  It 
stays  with  the  job  no  matter  how  tough  it  is  and  when  you  are 
finished  you  have  a road  that  is  really  graded.  The  Road  Boss 
was  built  to  do  the  hardest  grading,  just  like  the  30-60  tractor 
was  built  to  do  the  hardest  pulling.  I know  that  if  once  you  saw 
the  Road  Boss  work  you  would  tell  me  to  ship  you  one  right 
away. 

I have  given  you  the  facts  just  as  they  are  and  I hope  you  will 
tell  me  to  send  you  a Road  Boss  ALL  FREIGHT  CHARGES 
PAID  with  the  understanding  that  you  can  ship  it  back  to  me  at 
my  expense  if  it  isn’t  satisfactory  in  every  way.  My  low  price 
of  $595.00  will  save  you  at  least  $100.00  and  is  made  possible 
only  through  the  co-operation  of  my  friends  and  customers. 

I am  mighty  glad  you  wrote  me  and  I sincerely  hope  you  will 
give  the  Road  Boss  a free  trial  in  your  township. 

With  best  wishes  and  kind  regards,  I am 
Sincerely  yours, 

I have  tried  to  illustrate  to  you  that  follow-up  let- 
ters fit  any  kind  of  business.  If  there  are  limitations 
I have  never  found  them.  The  letters  illustrated  are 
not  intended  to  be  used  as  samples.  They  represent 
the  personality  and  selling  methods  of  some  other 
man.  He  puts  his  sales  talk  on  paper.  Why  not 
put  yours  on  paper?  If  you  can  talk  you  can  write 
a letter , for  a sales  letter  should  be  just  what  you 
would  say  if  you  had  the  prospect  in  front  of  you. 
Use  horse  sense.  Line  up  your  arguments  in  consec- 
utive fashion,  with  a separate  appeal  in  each  section, 
and  bombard  your  prospective  customer  with  such 
regularity  that  the  hole  made  by  the  last  letter  can- 
not close  before  the  next  letter  arrives.  Thus  you 
“bore  in”  and  eventually  reach  the  business  heart 

41 


of  the  man  you  are  after.  It  is  no  more  logical  to 
send  letters  so  far  apart  that  the  others  have  been 
forgotten  when  the  last  arrives,  than  it  would  be  for 
a surgeon  to  perform  an  operation  by  making  an  in- 
cision of  1-32  of  an  inch  every  sixty  days.  In  both 
cases  the  hole  would  have  closed  before  the  time 
for  the  next  operation.  No  difference  how  illiterate 
you  may  be,  if  you  have  something  to  sell  that  is 
worth  selling,  and  vou  know  WHY  it  is  worth  sell- 
ing, and  you  KEEP  ON  TELLING  THE  PUB- 
LIC WHY  it  is  worth  selling,  you  will  sell  it.  Pro- 
vided, of  course,  that  you  tell  your  story  to  people 
who  can  he  interested  in  your  goods.  Don’t  adver- 
tise to  a million  when  only  five  hundred  can  possibly 
buy.  That  is  horse-sense. 


42 


HOW  TO  PRODUCE  FOLLOW-UP 
LETTERS 

CHAPTER  III 

SO  far  I have  told  you  what  follow-up  letters 
are,  what  they  have  done  for  others,  and  what 
they  can  do  for  you.  I have  yet  to  find  a bus- 
iness man,  worthy  of  the  name,  who  would  admit 
that  he  was  incapable  of  producing  the  same  success 
that  someone  else  had  produced  before  him,  if  given 
an  equal  chance.  I now  propose  to  tell  you  how 
follow-up  letters  are  produced,  and  give  you  your 
equal  chance  with  every  competitor. 

If  the  Mail  Order  House  is  hurting  your  business; 
if  your  big  competitor  across  the  street  is  taking 
away  your  customers  one  by  one;  or  even  if  you 
have  had  the  simple  excuse  that  you  did  not  know 
how  to  handle  follow-up  letters,  I am  going  to  wipe 
out  every  barrier,  and  start  you  at  the  tape  with  your 
competitors — with  an  equal  chance  for  all.  Brains 
run  this  race,  and  the  sooner  you  start  training  yours, 
the  sooner  you  will  outstrip  competition. 

The  Multigraph  is  the  machine  that  has  been  used 
by  practically  all  the  mail  order  and  follow-up  let- 
ter successes  in  this  country.  I will  tell  you  briefly 
what  it  is : 

The  type  composing  unit  of  the  Multigraph  is  the 
Multigraph  Compotype  (shown  at  the  left  of  the 
illustration  on  page  44).  The  basic  features  of  this 
machine  are  two  channeled  cylinders,  mounted  end 
to  end  on  a cast-iron  base  set  on  a tubular  stand. 
One  cylinder  is  a type-supply  drum;  the  other  a 
printing  drum.  The  type-supply  drum  carries  indi- 
vidual type  in  three  typewriter  faces — Pica  Type- 
writer, Elite  Typewriter  and  Oliver  Printype — for 
printing  through  a ribbon. 

43 


The  Multigraph  No.  36  Printer  Senior 

(Complete  Equipment) 

This  Senior  equipment  consists  of  the  Multigraph  No.  36  Printer  Senior,  for 
both  form  typewriting  and  real  printers’  printing,  with  Automatic  Paper  Feed, 
Electric  Power  Drive,  Printing-Ink  Attachment,  Signature  Device,  and  Auto- 
matic Platen  Release,  stopping  the  machine  instantly  when  paper  is  not  fed.  The 
type  composing  and  distributing  companion  to  the  Multigraph  No.  36  Printer 
Senior  is  the  Compotype.  On  this,  type  is  set  semi-automatically.  The  seg- 
mental printing  drum  of  the  Multigraph  No.  36  Printer  Senior  is  easily  removed 
and  attached  to  the  Compotype.  The  Flexo-Typesetter,  shown  on  page  46,  may 
also  be  used  with  the  No.  36  Printer  Senior. 


The  type  is  set  by  semi-automatic  process.  The 
left  hand  turns  the  wheel  shown  at  the  left  side  of 
the  machine  until  the  indicator  is  opposite  the  type 
character  desired.  The  right  hand  then  pulls  the 
trigger  and  the  individual  type  is  shot  into  the  chan- 

44 


nel  of  the  printing  drum.  These  two  operations  are 
rapid  and  their  repetition  sets  the  form.  Reverse 
them  and  they  distribute  the  form  when  the  letter 
has  been  run. 

When  the  type  has  been  set  in  the  printing  drum 
it  is  fastened  by  little  metal  clips  or  bands  to  pre- 
vent endwise  movement,  but  the  individual  type 
characters  have  sufficient  lateral  play  in  the  channel 
to  produce  the  slight  inequalities  characteristic  of 
the  ordinary  typewriter.  Corrections  are  made  with 
great  ease  in  a short  time. 

The  printing  drum  is  segmental  and  when  the 
type  is  set  it  is  transferred  from  the  Compotype  to 
the  Printing  Unit  (shown  at  the  right  of  the  illus- 
tration on  page  44).  This  unit,  as  shown,  is  equipped 
with  Automatic  Feed — holding  500  sheets  of  paper 
at  one  filling;  Electric  Power  Drive — driving  the 
machine  at  a speed  of  from  2,400  to  4,800  per  hour 
and  using  the  current  from  an  ordinary  light  socket; 
and  Signature  Device — imprinting  a fac-simile  sig- 
nature in  colored  ink  at  the  same  time  the  letter  is 
run. 

The  segmental  drum  prints  a form  measuring 
8x1  D/4  in.  or  65  lines  of  typewriting.  Several  seg- 
ments may  be  had  so  that  composition  may  be  done 
on  the  Compotype  while  a letter  is  being  run  on  the 
Multigraph  Printer. 

After  the  segmental  drum  with  the  composed  let- 
ter on  it  has  been  locked  in  place  on  the  Printer,  it 
is  covered  by  a broad  typewriter  ribbon  that  is  car- 
ried on  two  spools  in  an  opening  in  the  printing 
drum.  This  ribbon  is  21  feet  long,  moves  automat- 
ically from  one  spool  to  the  other  in  much  the  same 
manner  as  on  an  ordinary  typewriter,  and  reverses 
automatically  when  the  end  is  reached.  As  the 

45 


The  Flexo-Typesetter,  Model  No.  39 

This  little  machine  is  the  composing-half  of  Junior  Multigraph  No.  40  Printer 
Junior  equipment.  It  can  also  be  used  with  the  Multigraph  No.  36  Printer 
Senior. 

It  is  a gravity  typesetter  composed  of  three  banks,  each  containing  forty-two 
columns  of  type.  The  upper  bank  contains  figures  and  special  characters,  the 
middle  bank  capital  letters,  and  the  lower  bank  small  letters. 

The  type  can  be  rapidly  removed  from  the  bottom  of  the  column  and  slid 
into  the  channels  of  the  printing  drum  by  the  use  of  a light  tubular  composing 
fork. 

printing  drum  revolves,  each  line  in  turn  comes  in 
contact  with  a rubber  cylinder  or  platen,  thus  pro- 
ducing real  typewriting,  a complete  typewritten  let- 
ter with  every  revolution.  A simple  device  regu- 
lates the  type  pressure,  so  that  it  will  correspond 
to  the  light  or  heavy  touch  of  the  individual  who  is 
to  match  in  the  address,  and  by  the  same  means  uni- 
formity of  color  is  maintained  as  the  ribbon  becomes 
worn. 

After  the  letters  are  Multigraphed  they  can  be 
filled  in  on  a correspondence  typewriter,  using  rib- 

46 


bons  that  match  in  color  and  shade  the  ribbon  used 
on  the  Multigraph. 

When  the  run  is  completed,  the  segmental  drum 
is  removed  from  the  Printer,  the  type  cleaned  with 
a simple  cleaning  solution,  the  drum  again  placed 
on  the  Compotype  and  the  type  distributed,  or  the 
form  may  be  kept  standing,  ready  for  use  at  a sub- 
sequent date. 

Type  composition  may  also  be  done  on  another 
form  of  Multigraph  composing  unit,  called  the 
Flexo-Typesetter,  if  desired,  illustrated  on  page  46. 

An  operator  soon  acquires  a speed  of  a line  a min- 
ute in  composition,  while  distribution  is  even  faster. 

The  Multigraph  Senior  is  also  a Printing  Ma- 
chine, having  an  attachment  that  uses  the  same  ink 
that  printers  use,  and  producing  work  equal  in  qual- 
ity to  that  produced  by  the  printer.  Operated  by 
electricity  and  equipped  with  automatic  feed,  it 
prints  from  either  electrotypes  or  type  at  a speed 
of  2400  to  4800  per  hour. 

This  is  the  Multigraph  equipment  most  generally 
used  by  larger  business  houses  that  send  out  quan- 
tities of  follow-up  letters  and  printed  matter. 

For  those  who  require  only  a limited  quantity  of 
form  letters  and  printing  there  is  the  Multigraph 
Junior.  This  is  a smaller  model  of  the  Multigraph, 
hand-operated,  and  has  no  attachments  except  a two- 
roll  printing-ink  attachment,  with  which  good  print- 
ing may  be  done  in  limited  quantities.  It  has  a 
printing  surface  of  iy2  inches.  (See  page  48). 

The  Junior  equipment  is  the  ideal  equipment  for 
retailers,  small  manufacturers,  agencies,  restaurants, 
offices,  etc.  Purchasers  of  Junior  equipment  can 
trade  it  in  on  Senior  equipment  at  full  purchase 
price  any  time  within  ninety  days. 

47 


The  Multigraph  No.  40  Printer  Junior 

The  Multigraph  No.  40  Printer  Junior  is  a smaller  machine  than  the  regular 
Multigraph,  but  does  the  same  character  of  form  typewriting. 

It  has  a removable  printing  drum,  six  inches  in  diameter.  The  printing  sur- 
face is  7l/2  inches  by  13J4  inches  or  78  lines  of  typewriting.  It  will  take  paper 
9 inches  in  width.  Hand  fed  and  hand  operated.  Weight,  50  pounds. 

This  machine  cannot  be  equipped  with  Automatic  Feed,  Electric  Power  Drive 
or  Signature  Device.  It  can  be  equipped,  however,  with  a simple,  two-roll 
Printing-Ink  Attachment,  with  which  real  printing  with  printers’  ink  may  be 
done  in  limited  quantities.  The  Illustration  above  shows  the  machine  equipped 
for  form  typewriting  only. 


Either  Multigraph  Senior  or  Junior  equipment 
can  be  purchased  on  terms — 20%  down  and  easy 
monthly  payments.  Either  equipment  should  earn 
enough  to  pay  installments  as  due. 

There  is  really  nothing  more  to  say  about  the 
mechanical  features  of  the  Multigraph.  I have  ex- 
plained that  it  produces  a perfect  typewritten  letter, 
and  also  printers’  printing.  The  next  thing  that 
interests  you  is  cost  of  production. 

(1)  Cost  of  typewritten  letters  varies,  but  on  a 

48 


fair  average,  an  ordinary  office  employee  can  set  up, 
correct,  print  1000  copies,  and  distribute  the  type 
on  a letter  of  thirty  lines  in  two  hours.  The  total 
cost  of  production  of  1000  letters  should  not  run  over 
75c.  In  smaller  offices  the  spare  time  of  the  sten- 
ographer can  be  used,  both  for  running  the  Multi- 
graph and  filling-in  the  addresses.  In  larger  offices, 
the  cost  of  filling-in  will  depend  on  the  salary  paid 
stenographers. 

(2)  Cost  of  printing  also  varies,  according  to 
the  amount  of  type  composition  on  the  page.  Plates 
can  be  used,  or  regular  printers’  type  faces  can  be  se- 
cured in  Multigraph  type.  An  ordinary  letter-head 
can  be  printed  for  less  than  $1.00  per  thousand.  To 
figure  safely,  you  can  save  from  25%  to  75%  of  your 
printing  bills.  That  is  quite  an  item,  even  if  your 
bills  are  only  $500.00  per  year.  Fifty  per  cent.,  or 
$250.00,  is  well  worth  looking  into.  Those  who  have 
bills  ranging  under  $500.00  yearly  have  a much 
greater  percentage  of  saving,  as  printers  charge  more 
in  small  quantities. 

Where  accurate  register  is  not  necessary,  any  num- 
ber of  colors  can  be  run,  although  almost  perfect 
register  can  be  gotten. 

You  have  now  been  carried  through  the  follow- 
up mechanical  process.  First,  I have  told  you  what 
others  are  doing  with  follow-up  letters.  You  know 
that  it  is  true,  for  the  big  successes  of  many  Multi- 
graph users  stand  out  as  monuments  to  mark  and 
prove  the  fact.  In  the  back  of  this  booklet  is  a list 
of  a few  well  known  Multigraph  users,  and  a few 
testimonials.  Read  and  be  convinced.  Next,  I told 
you  what  the  Multigraph  is — what  it  will  do.  And 
finally,  I told  you  what  you  could  save.  It  is  all 
there  for  you,  and  vou  have  the  information  that  will 

49 


equip  you  for  a running  start  in  the  race  for  business. 

We  have  an  office  near  you,  with  trained  men  in 
charge  of  it.  They  will  come  to  you  and  prove  that 
we  can  help  you,  and  after  your  Multigraph  is  in- 
stalled, they  will  stick  by  you  and  help  you  “make 
good”.  You  cant  buy  a Multigraph  unless  you  need 
it.  Ask  us  to  send  a man  to  help  you  solve  your  prob- 
lems. He  will  not  try  to  sell  you.  He  will  let  you 
sell  yourself,  if  you  need  it,  and  if  you  do  not,  he 
will  tell  you  so  frankly.  Be  fair  to  yourself — to  your 
business  future.  You  are  giving  the  best  of  yourself 
to  building  your  business.  Don’t  let  your  neighbor, 
or  your  competitor  build  a business  monument  that 
will  stand  longer  and  loom  larger  than  yours. 

Forget  the  old  notions  of  the  past. 

Forget  that  we  once  crossed  deserts  in  oxcarts. 

Forget  that  mailcarriers  once  ran  barefoot,  rode 
ponies  or  in  stage  coaches. 

Face  about — tell  yourself  the  truth — tell  your- 
self that  you  aren’t  keeping  pace  with  the  runners. 

Get  on  the  Business  Limited  and  ride  the  cushions 
a while,  and  you  won’t  feel  the  bumps  of  competi- 
tion so  keenly. 

This  is  plain  talk,  but  it  is  true  talk.  You  can’t 
face  backward  and  run  forward.  You  are  living  in 
the  past  and  present,  and  you  are  forgetting  that 
your  name  and  your  business  should  run  on  long 
years  into  the  future — even  after  you  are  gone. 

Now  take  us  at  our  word — it  will  only  cost  a stamp 
— and  make  us  prove  that  what  you  have  read  is  true. 


50 


A Few  Representative  Multigraph  Users 


m LIBRARY 
OF  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  li«  INOIS 


Convince rs — 


TEAR  OFF  HERE 


